Man seeks compensation two years after kitchen accident

By SHELDON WILLIAM, STAR Writer

After receiving severe burns to his face, chest and hand while he was an employee at a restaurant, one young man is now complaining that he is yet to receive compensation almost two years after the accident.

The 29-year-old man explained to THE STAR how the accident took place while he washed pots in the kitchen.

The matter is slated to be heard before the Supreme Court, however, a date is yet to be set because of a backlog of cases.

" A work me deh star and like me a wash up ... the supervisor seh, you come cook 'cause you can move faster and the supervisor seh me fi clean the pot dem...," he said.

He said, however, that it was while he was doing this that the accident occurred. He said that he threw water in a pot that was giving him problems to clean and left it to boil.

" Me throw the water inna it, lock the pot and then the pot deh deh a boil and it coming like a pressure cooker ... then me lock it off and go wash me hand and come back. When me come back and try fi open it, me just see it fly off so, bloom! and me just chuck from it so," he further explained.

The burn victim said that seconds after, "me feel me face start bun me, and me run go in a the bathroom and look pon my face and me feel me shirt suck on and wen me go so and lift it up, me just see pure white."

He said that the water began burning him and some of his co-workers then began wetting him with water. He was then taken to the hospital where his painful ordeal continued.

"A 13 day me feel pain for straight inno, night and day, no time from the day me bun up, me no stop feel pain ... Mi manager gimme a big bag of panadol, everytime me wake up, me just take around 10 a dem one time and just go sleep back 'cause the pain lick me, me couldn't do nothing the way me feel pain," he told THE STAR.

When THE STAR made contact with the law firm representing the youngster, the firm's secretary explained the cause for the delay in the matter.

"It's his word against theirs right now ... they have said he was at fault ... it's a long line and he has to wait his turn, as there are many cases before the court," the secretary explained.

At the same time, the youngster commented to THE STAR that, "dem no fi get weh wid dem thing yah and we no get nothing ... but how me look pon it, nobody no really care still."