Plumber Fired After Saving Tourist


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The passerby plumber credited with saving a British tourist's life after a horrific Manhattan taxi crash claimed today that he's been sacked from his job for attracting too much attention.

David Justino, 44, made a tourniquet out of his belt to stop the bleeding from Sian Green's leg when the young woman's foot was severed by a runaway cab on August 20.

Miss Green, 23, today spoke for the first time since the accident and thanked strangers that saved her life. Mr Justino now says he has been punished for this heroism by his employer.

The plumber said he has been laid off with no explanation by his ex-bosses at Bass Plumbing and Heating Corp, of Queens, New York. He believes it is a reaction to his new-found fame.

'I lost my job for saving this girl! All that commotion, my boss had enough of it and decided it would be better to fire me,' a frustrated Mr Justino told the New York Daily News.

The man says he was fired from his foreman's job in the construction of a store at the Rockefeller Center subway station just days after his vital intervention to stop Miss Green bleeding to death.

The British woman lost her leg in the horrific Manhattan accident near where Justino worked and today spoke publicly about the crash for the first time.

Miss Green had to have her left leg amputated after a taxi driver lost control and slammed into her, severing her foot, on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street in Midtown Manhattan five weeks ago.

The aspiring model from Leicester appeared on the Today show and said that if it wasn't for the kindness and quick-thinking of strangers, such as Mr Justino, she wouldn't have survived the crash.

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It's shocking how poorly workers are treated in the US; employment protection is virtually non-existent. What makes it all the more bizarre is that his newfound fame makes for ideal PR and should be every employer's dream.

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Is that not grounds for unfair dismissal?  

yes but don't expect anyone to do anything about it all the same

 

you can't f**king do anything in this country anymore without someone looking at it in the wrong light and "punishing" you

this country is full of a**holes that constantly exploit everything that is wrong with our system

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Wow you think they would keep him around and even milk the event for PR and stuff and not do the other way around. Some companies don't know how to handle themselves. 

 

I would love to have that kinda person that was a hero to someone in my company. 

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devil's advocate there might be slightly more to the story than what's being released so far.  That said it would be foolish for his previous employer to have fired him for the reason that he's stating and even if he doesn't get his job back with them I'm sure somebody will recognize his good deed and reward him with another job.

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Believe it or not it isn't in most states. In most states the only employee protection is protected classes.

 

Would that not conflict with the Good Samaritan law? It's illegal not to help somebody unless it puts you in danger right?

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Would that not conflict with the Good Samaritan law? It's illegal not to help somebody unless it puts you in danger right?

the good Samaritan law in most states just protects that person from criminal or civil damages, but it doesn't force that person to actually be a good Samaritan.  It also doesn't mean that your job can't fire you for any reason.  Being that New York is a heavy union state and looking at this guy he looks like he is in a union that usually means your job can't fire you whenever they want to unless there was something else that happened.

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yeah, well Im sure that company will get even more attention now that the world is aware of the firing.. not the smartest move on their part

Maybe that was the point? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he was hired again and the company being applauded for that.

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