This weekend I (27F) attended a work training event with several colleagues. The company had us stay in a hotel and participate in a full day of meetings focused on our goals for the next quarter. For context, I work in sales and it’s a highly competitive environment. Most of the attendees were older than me as I’m the youngest in the group.
After the day’s events, a few of us decided to go out for dinner at a restaurant nearby. We carpooled there and when we arrived, one of the older employees, Deborah (50s), was already at the bar. She seemed to be having a good time and when we invited her to join us for dinner, she declined. We continued with our meal and while I had two beers during dinner, I noticed Deborah getting visibly more intoxicated as the night went on. By the time we finished eating, it was clear she was extremely drunk as she was stumbling and slurring her words.
As we left the restaurant, Deborah followed us outside and reached for her car keys. Alarmed, I immediately stopped her and offered to drive her back to the hotel. She agreed but as she tried to open the car door, she missed the handle and fell backward, hitting the back of her head on the pavement. The sound was terrible as it was like someone dropping a carton of eggs. When I rushed to check on her, she was unconscious and bleeding from the back of her head.
Everyone panicked. I grabbed my phone to call 911 but one of the younger coworkers stopped me. He suggested we just put her in the car, take her back to the hotel and leave her in her room to sleep it off. I was stunned and immediately disagreed. She had a head injury and was bleeding. What if she’d cracked her skull? I remembered learning in school that falling asleep after a head injury could be dangerous even life-threatening. Some other colleagues agreed with me so I went ahead and called an ambulance.
The paramedics arrived quickly and took Deborah to the hospital. The next day, I checked on her and found out she was in really bad shape but had survived. The situation seemed under control but then our managers found out that Deborah had been hospitalized for overdrinking at what was technically a work function. They fired her immediately citing inappropriate behavior.
That’s when things got messy. Word spread that I was the one who had called the ambulance and reactions were split. Many of the older employees said I did the right thing and possibly saved Deborah’s life. However, the younger coworkers accused me of being a snake and suggested I had her fired on purpose because she was “competition.”
I honestly didn’t call the ambulance with any malicious intent. I was scared for Deborah’s safety and thought calling for help was the responsible thing to do. Now though I’m questioning if I handled it the right way. Did I overstep by calling 911 knowing it might lead to consequences for her job? AITA?
Comments :
NTA – she was in a life threatening situation. You did what you should have done, regardless of what implications there are to the job.
Exactly, you did the only responsible thing to do that does not make you the AH
7ilcun