Nepali Worker Wins QR135,000 In Compensation

A Qatari court last week awarded QR135,000 in compensation to a Nepali worker who suffered 90 per cent burn injuries at a work site in Al Khor about a year ago, reports said.

Laxman KC, 23, was working in a garage as a helper and suffered burn injuries while doing some welding work. The fingers of both of his hands were webbed due to the accident and he is to undergo an operation.

The employer challenged Laxman's plea for compensation in the court on the ground that he was injured due to his own fault as he being an unskilled worker and not trained in welding works, was doing the job on his own.

The Nepali embassy in Qatar came to the worker's rescue and hired a lawyer (a Qatari woman) to fight his case and she eventually won the case for him. The embassy will file a law suit to recover the compensation amount from the garage owner in a week's time.It is learnt that the worker was not insured, in which case the owner of the garage can be asked to pay the compensation amount.

Under Qatari laws, if it is proved that a worker has suffered injuries at work place due to his own fault, he is not entitled to workman's compensation.Laxman has expressed his wish to leave the country for good after undergoing the operation.