DPD courier who was fined for day off to see doctor dies from diabetes

[Suppressed]

DPD courier who was fined for day off to see doctor dies from diabetes
Don Lane’s widow says he was afraid of getting fined if he did not ensure his round was covered

Robert Booth
Mon 5 Feb 2018 02.27 EST First published on Mon 5 Feb 2018 02.00 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/05/courier-who-was-fined-for-day-off-to-see-doctor-dies-from-diabetes



A courier for the parcel giant DPD who was fined for attending a medical appointment to treat his diabetes collapsed and died of the disease, it has emerged. Don Lane, 53, from Christchurch in Dorset, missed appointments with specialists because he felt under pressure to cover his round and faced DPD’s £150 daily penalties if he did not find cover, his widow has told the Guardian.

DPD delivers parcels for Marks & Spencer, Amazon and John Lewis but only pays couriers per parcel delivered. It treats them as self-employed franchisees and they receive no sick or holiday pay. The company’s system of charging drivers if they cannot cover their round has been described as appalling by the chairman of the House of Commons’ work and pensions committee, Frank Field.

Lane had collapsed twice, including once into a diabetic coma while at the wheel of his DPD van during deliveries, when the company fined him in July after he went to see a specialist about eye damage caused by diabetes. He collapsed again in September and finally in late December having worked through illness during the Christmas rush. He died at the Royal Bournemouth hospital on 4 January, leaving behind a widow, Ruth, and a 22-year-old son. He had worked for DPD for 19 years.

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[Applewood]

Rest in peace, Mr. Lane. 

Stress, such as what Mr. Lane apparently was under, can raise blood sugar to potentially fatal levels.  I don't know what the law is in the UK, but in the US, Mr. Lane's widow might have a case against the employer.  I hope she can get some compensation through the courts and that the company may be made to change its policies so this sort of thing doesn't happen again.

[WingNot]

Maybe he died from their great health care system.   

[Applewood]

Maybe he died from their great health care system.

An irreversible diabetic coma can come upon a diabetic all of a sudden.  Not even the best and fastest health care in the world can save a diabetic in a comatose state much of the time.  Those who are saved often have severe, permanent brain damage.