sws4420
03-09-2005, 05:49 PM
NEW YORK (AFP) - An illegal immigrant from Mexico who filed suit after being seriously injured on a construction job won a four-million-dollar settlement in what his lawyers said is the largest payout ever to an undocumented immigrant, local media reported.
The laborer -- who would not reveal his identity for fear that his family in Puebla would be kidnapped -- lost his sight in one eye and his sense of smell, broke several teeth and sustained serious injuries to his head, liver, kidneys and a lung after falling 30 feet (9.1 meters) from scaffolding in New York in 2001.
The 33-year-old father of three then spent three months in the hospital, where he underwent six operations.
"We took the case and we fought against the owner of the building and the companies employing him, and in the end we received a payment for him of four million dollars," Brian O'Dwyer, one of the man's lawyers, told The Sun. He noted that the settlement would be paid this week.
O'Dwywer, who called this the largest settlement in history involving an undocumented migrant, said the worker's family initially came to him "believing they didn't have any rights because they were undocumented." He added that "there is just a huge number of undocumented (workers) being exploited."
For his part, the worker said: "Now my plans are to study something, to see to the future of my children, and after that, only God knows."
The laborer -- who would not reveal his identity for fear that his family in Puebla would be kidnapped -- lost his sight in one eye and his sense of smell, broke several teeth and sustained serious injuries to his head, liver, kidneys and a lung after falling 30 feet (9.1 meters) from scaffolding in New York in 2001.
The 33-year-old father of three then spent three months in the hospital, where he underwent six operations.
"We took the case and we fought against the owner of the building and the companies employing him, and in the end we received a payment for him of four million dollars," Brian O'Dwyer, one of the man's lawyers, told The Sun. He noted that the settlement would be paid this week.
O'Dwywer, who called this the largest settlement in history involving an undocumented migrant, said the worker's family initially came to him "believing they didn't have any rights because they were undocumented." He added that "there is just a huge number of undocumented (workers) being exploited."
For his part, the worker said: "Now my plans are to study something, to see to the future of my children, and after that, only God knows."