Juan Manuel Jiménez describes his current daily life as that of “a child” who cannot spend time alone.
“I cannot drive, work, or have a normal diet. Nor can I control my emotions,” he tells SBS Spanish.
"I am not in a position to lead a normal life."
The 25-year-old student from Colombia survived a severe workplace accident in Melbourne that nearly cost him his life.
Juan is suffering the consequences of multiple skull fractures that caused him three cerebral hemorrhages.
He also broke his shoulder and a thumb in the accident.
"I became like a child again because society does not allow me to drive, it does not let me go to the park alone, and I understand why because I am a risk behind the wheel, as I am not well physically or mentally.”
His life turned upside down on December 17, 2020, while he was operating a machine to clean and polish the floor.
That day, he was sent to clean in the parking lot of a building, despite the fact that the day before, he had messaged his boss that the machine’s brakes were failing.
I told my boss that the machine was having a lot of problems and that the emergency brake was even failing me.
But Juan says that work pressures meant “we needed to finish as soon as possible”. He was told that the “machine would be sent for a check-up” later.
The next day, Juan used the machine again.
“I was on a ramp in a parking lot and then the brakes started to fail.
“I crashed into a concrete wall and my skull was smashed into three parts."
Juan's wife, Vanessa, was accompanying him that day to help him, and as soon as she heard the screams, she came to his aid.
Juan underwent emergency brain surgery and was put in a coma for ten days.
Since then, he has undergone a long process of mental and physical rehabilitation that can last for a year, including treatment with antidepressants.
Source: Provided (Juan Manuel Jiménez)
Juan says the doctors have told him to take at least 12 months of medical leave.
“I am not allowed to drive because I am at high risk of epileptic seizures due to the brain injury I suffered, so I cannot spend much time alone either.”
He has also lost his sense of smell and his digestive system does not tolerate some foods, causing him to vomit frequently.
No work insurance
Despite being grateful to have survived, Juan and his wife now face hardship because they do not have insurance to cover his medical and rehabilitation expenses.
Juan claims that the company where he worked has not offered him any support.
He explains that the incident was not recognised as a work accident, and he had no other form of insurance as a self-employed person.
Juan says that he was not registered as part of the company's employment insurance as an employee, because he worked independently with an Australian Business Number (ABN) and billed the company for the hours he worked, in full-time shifts.
According to Juan, he and his wife were told that Juan “was not covered by work insurance”. Instead, he says they were encouraged by the company where he worked to file a claim with his student insurance, even though the accident had occurred during working hours.
They both felt abandoned by lack of interest shown by the company where he was contracted.
"[The support] disappeared when they found out about the accident.
"[There was interest] until the moment I was in a coma, and then it vanished," Juan laments.
Matt Kunkel, director of the Migrant Workers Centre in Victoria, explains that international students are often unprotected in cases of workplace accidents.
"There are a number of very unscrupulous bosses out there who despite knowing they should be paying correct wages and conditions to people who are their employees force them to go and get an ABN to avoid their corporate responsibility," he says.
Kunkel also points out that the low salaries that some employers usually pay to international students and other migrants barely allow them to cover their expenses, so “[if they don't have] enough to live on, it will not be possible for them to pay for additional things, such as insurance, workers compensation or superannuation”.
It's a widespread problem across the country, and the government needs to do something about it, because it's costing the economy, and it's costing people like Juan in really big way.
Support from the Hispanic community
Vanesa also came to Australia on a student visa in 2020 and is now pursuing a certificate to become a qualified Social Worker, so she can help people with disabilities.
After the accident, she had to carry the couple's entire financial burden to support herself and pay for Juan's medical expenses, but her income is not enough.
Desperation led them to organise a GoFundMe campaign in order to cover the most immediate expenses.
Juan says asking for help was a huge, difficult step for him emotionally. He had been an ambitious professional in Colombia, where he worked as a production manager for a large multinational.
But thanks to the generosity of many, the couple managed to raise just over $11,000.
"We did very well. We raised a little more than our initial target and it helped us a lot because we were able to cover most of the medical expenses."
Over time, Juan's lawyers were able to get his student insurance to pay 60 percent of general medical expenses. However, this aid was not enough to cover all the bills, and the money raised was used up in three months.
Juan and Vanessa before the accident. Source: Provided (Juan Manuel Jiménez)
"Melbourne is very expensive, the rent ... my wife has to call Ubers for me to go to the doctor, because I can't drive and I can't go alone."
However, the couple has no plans to raise more money online.
Now, with the help of his lawyers, the intention is to claim that his boss should cover him through his public liability insurance.
Juan emphasises the need for students to be well informed so as not to be left unprotected.
"Sometimes, in our eagerness to work, to send money back home and pay for our studies, we forget that our safety comes first and there are many people who are taking advantage of that to earn money at our expense.”
Kunkel emphasizes that if an employer offers a job and requires registration with an ABN, this should be a red flag.
"If this happens it is quite likely that it is a sham contract."
Read and listen to the podcast In Spanish:
“Estuve a punto de morir”: Estudiante hispano lucha por compensación de gastos médicos tras accidente laboral en Australia
Sham contracting is an illegal practice that is still rampant in Australia and mainly affects migrant workers and those who are unfamiliar with Australian labour laws.
Kunkel warns that there are clear indications that can alert a worker who could fall victim of this scheme, under which an employer hires casual workers and demands an ABN, in order to avoid having to pay the required insurance and suppeannutation fees workers are entitled to receive under a formal employment relationship.
"Most of these agreements, where a person goes to work for a boss, but uses their equipment, represents their company or wears their uniform - that person should be considered an employee and the boss is responsible for paying all insurance costs and superannuation."
Kunkel advises people who find themselves in a possible sham contract to “keep very detailed records of the working arrangements, because it is possible to prove that you are an employee. If you do prove you're an employee, you're entitled to all of the back pay and conditions that you've missed out on.”
Juan and Vanessa now plan to move to Perth, where the cost of living is lower.
Source: Provided (Juan Manuel Jiménez)
Although their situation is harsh and dramatic, he explains that having been on the verge of death has also changed him personally and despite everything, he sees life with optimism.
“I came out of an accident that almost took away being with my family and being at peace, so I want to tell people to enjoy every second and not hurt each other, let's do the right things, let's help nature, let's help everything to flow in one way and the world will change for the better ”.
