Rajaratnam S M
Centre for Chronobiology, Guildford, UK.
J Hum Ergol (Tokyo). 2001 Dec;30(1-2):107-11.
The impact of shift-work on sleep, performance and general health appears to be substantial. The most immediate consequence of night shiftwork is sleep loss. The aim of the present paper is to describe legal cases involving accidents attributed to sleepiness or fatigue, mainly as a consequence of shift-work or prolonged work hours, in the UK, USA and Australia. The paper will describe how legal systems are dealing with such incidents and how this may change in the future. Accidents related to sleepiness may result in criminal prosecution, for example charges of culpable driving. For acts performed while a person is sleeping (e.g., motor vehicle accidents), the legal question of voluntariness may be raised. The issue of employers' liability in such cases is contentious. Special liability regimes are in place to cover employers' liability. Employers may be deemed liable for injuries of third parties caused by wrongful acts of employees committed in the course of their employment. In the future, it is likely that employers will need to take greater precautions to reduce sleepiness and fatigue in the workplace, especially where the risk to public and environmental safety, health and productivity are significant.
轮班工作对睡眠、工作表现和总体健康的影响似乎很大。夜班工作最直接的后果就是睡眠缺失。本文的目的是描述在英国、美国和澳大利亚发生的涉及因困倦或疲劳（主要是轮班工作或工作时间过长所致）引发事故的法律案例。本文将阐述法律系统如何处理此类事件以及未来可能会发生怎样的变化。与困倦相关的事故可能会导致刑事起诉，比如被控危险驾驶。对于某人在睡眠状态下实施的行为（如机动车事故），可能会引发关于行为自主性的法律问题。在此类案件中雇主责任的问题存在争议。已有特殊责任制度来涵盖雇主责任。雇主可能会被认定对员工在工作过程中实施的不法行为给第三方造成的伤害负有责任。未来，雇主很可能需要采取更多预防措施来减少工作场所的困倦和疲劳，尤其是在对公众、环境安全、健康和生产力构成重大风险的情况下。
