Should my work have called an ambulance when I fainted or is it not necessary as it is not always serious?

Question

The other day I was at work and doing some things and all of a sudden started to feel lightheaded and fainted. It all happened so quickly that I had no time to sit or lie down to prevent a hard fall. When I did faint, I hit my head on the hard floor at work. I was very out of it for a minute or two (maybe a little longer) since it took some time for people to wake me up. I"m not sure the cause of the fainting..but it may have been from extreme fatigue/stress as I was working 7 days straight and work was busy all week and I didn't get a lot of sleep. I was also hot at work so I think that added to it. Someone thought maybe it was from low blood sugar, but I had eaten a bagel before I went to work (and have gone to work many times without eating breakfast since I"m always in a hurry in the morning) without fainting. I thought it may also have been a change in heart rhythm since my heartbeat felt strange a few minutes before I fainted..although I have no history of heart problems. So it was strange, but also very sudden.

But no one did call an ambulance..and when I asked if someone was going to...my work said they usually don't call ambulances unless absolutely necessary. So, I figured I would be ok and didn't need to call the doctor or go to the hospital. Was it ok that my work didn't call an ambulance or should they have called one, no matter if it was serious or not?

I haven't fainted for a long time (maybe several years), by the way. Also, can sudden fainting be bad??

Answer 1

OMG, I smell a law suit.  Your employer is legally required to render first aid. I'm stunned.  You must fill out a workers compensation report as you did strike your head and you now are required to go to an emergency department. If I was working with you I even would of driven you to the ER. How thoughtless and uncaring. Only a Dr. can determine the cause of your collapse as there could be several reasons. Shame on your employer for being so negligent, I hope you feel better. Ignore  the first answer and you are just as important, and deserved a 911 call, does he work with you? There are more than enough ambulances to respond to all 911callers. Have you gone to the emergency yet?Also fainting is never normal. And now (thank god) the first writer has removed his posted answer, although what he said to you I still find upsetting.

Answer 2

The fact you hit your head and and was unconcious was enough to warrant an ambulance to check you over....a concussion should not be ignored, even if they felt a trip to hospital was not necessary but should have told you to seek your Dr's advice for further investigation.

Fainting is not normal...so se your Dr for full follow-up.

Answer 3

Fainting is almost never "serious", and when it IS, the fact that it is serious becomes very apparent to everyone very quickly.  

Think about it this way; the fact that an ambulance WASN'T called for your little episode means one got a an accident where a young child had been mangled by a truck fast enough to get the child to hospital before she died.