Widow: Company Ordered Drug Test on Husband While He Lay Dying

(DALLAS) -- A Texas widow says in a lawsuit that her late husband's employer ordered a drug test on him as he lay dying on the floor -- and waited hours before calling 911.

Alejandra Perez, 56, said her husband, Benino, worked at Texas Industries (TXI for short) -- a cement and construction company. On July 1, 2011, he had an accident at the company's Dallas headquarters, falling several feet and hitting his head. He gradually lost consciousness and later died at a hospital. He was 67.

The suit, filed by Perez in a Texas district court on June 7, claims that while he "lay unconscious on the ground," a fellow employee ordered a drug test to be performed on him, and only after two hours were paramedics called. Perez said co-workers unzipped his pants and took urine from him.

"How could they do that?" she said in an interview with ABC News. "Why did it take them so many hours to call the ambulance? Even kids know how to do that."

The company denies that he was given a drug test that delayed a call for an ambulance.

David Perkins, vice president of environmental, government and public affairs at Texas Industries, said the ambulance was called after one of the company's drivers noticed Benino was walking irregularly and had blood coming from his nose.

"No drug testing was performed prior to calling 911, nor was it made a prerequisite before medical attention was sought for Mr. Perez," said TXI in a statement. "At any time when a TXI employee has immediate medical needs, the first and highest priority is to ensure that their needs are promptly met. Any drug testing analysis would have been done under the care of the paramedics or at the hospital."

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