Suresh, a migrant brother from Tamil Nadu, India who suffered from an unfortunate workplace accident in his thirties. This is his account of the story.
When I first arrived in Singapore in 2014, I was filled with excitement for the future. During those years, I worked three different jobs as a general worker, driver and scaffolding worker. However, my life changed in September 2022 when a tragic workplace accident happened.
On September 15, 2022 while doing scaffolding work, I fell from a great height. The accident severely injured my spinal cord, leaving me permanently paralysed from the waist down.
The days following the accident were difficult. I spent 20 days in the ICU before I was moved to a community hospital for three months of rehabilitation and physiotherapy. My boss visited me once, I told him I wanted to return to India and he said he could send me back soon but I did not believe him.
I stayed in the hospital feeling scared and helpless because I didn’t understand much English. I had no idea what the doctors were saying and there were only a few Indian nurses who could talk to me in my language. While I was at the community hospital, a medical social worker there referred me to HealthServe.
The first time I met Xiuyi (HealthServe’s social worker), I did not believe that anybody would help me for free. However, as I learnt more about HealthServe and the services they offered, I realised how I could have gone to HealthServe for help with WICA (Work Injury Compensation Act), instead of engaging a lawyer.
Migrant workers like me who have lost mobility need a lot of help. After I was discharged, the first few months were devastating and I felt like giving up because I had limited transportation payment support and nobody to help move me around to attend my medical and MOM (Ministry of Manpower) appointments. HealthServe tried to help with my transportation sometimes, but what I needed was more proactive support from my employer. The compensation process took a long time and I did not get proactive updates or advice from my lawyer. I could not trust him or anyone else.
I felt very abandoned and alone.
My life had changed drastically, but the encouragement I received from my family, doctors and HealthServe kept me going. I spent time learning about my injuries and found helpful exercises online. I also made every effort to recover by reaching out to my employer for support to attend all my medical appointments.
I hope that in the future, more translation support and improved legal literacy will be provided to injured workers so that they can understand their situations better and find the right solutions – fast.
HealthServe’s note:
One month after Suresh’s accident, HealthServe’s casework and counselling team began working closely with him to provide support.
We helped him contact various stakeholders and followed up on his work injury claim, ensuring that his needs were communicated and addressed effectively. We also provided ongoing engagement and emotional support to Suresh, including counselling sessions in Tamil to help him cope. Our team journeyed and worked with him till it was time for him to head back to India after receiving all his claims.
22 months after his accident, Suresh finally received workplace compensation and returned home on July 5, 2024. He hopes to buy some land to build a wheelchair-accessible home as well as start a small stationery shop to provide for his children.
Great uncertainty lies ahead, but Suresh’s journey is a testament of strength, resilience, and self-advocacy. HealthServe wishes him well as he reunites with family and loved ones.
