A woman from Shan State living in Chiang Mai woke in a hospital to find herself strapped with healthcare costs after being struck by a truck in an accident last month.
Nang Si Nom, a 36-year-old migrant worker from Mong Kung, said that the truck hit her while she was driving her motorbike on October 8, leaving her unconscious for three days in the hospital and with multiple injuries.
“I don’t remember anything about when the accident occurred… I didn’t know how I arrived at the hospital,” she told SHAN.
She said that she has not received compensation from the truck driver for the harm caused in the accident, which was deemed not to be her fault.
“Now I am a disabled person. I cannot stand on my feet. My hipbone is dislocated. There is fluid in my lungs. I have a daughter. So I don’t know what to do,” Nang Si Nom explained. Previously, she had been employed as a construction worker, a job she can no longer return to in her condition.
The woman is being assisted by Shan civil society organizations based in Thailand which advocate on behalf of migrant workers.
“Nang Si Nom currently has to pay all of the medical fees she has incurred in the hospital. We have requested that the Thai police seek compensation for her,” civil society representative Sai Tai told SHAN.
At least 10 Shan migrant workers are known to have been killed or seriously injured in accidents in Chiang Mai, Thailand, so far this year, according to local activists.
