For workers - A young worker's injury - Jay's story

Video transcript

DESCRIPTION:

TEXT: A young worker’s injury: Jay’s story

A man stands in front of a blue backdrop. He has short white hair and wears a dark suit, glasses and a black and white check tie.

TEXT: Rob Cordiner – Chief Executive Officer - ReturnToWorkSA

ROB CORDINER:

ReturnToWorkSA is a compulsory work injury insurer. We provide financial support to people injured at work. I invite you to have a look at this video and not think about money or financial support at all. Perhaps think about what you can do to help prevent injuries at work. Thank you.

DESCRIPTION:

In a vector-style graphic, two simple figures sit at a table. One of the figures wears a red hat and the other wears white and carries a red case with a white cross on it. Red text above them reads ‘young workers injured at work from 2014-2017’. On the left, further red text reads ‘8,129 aged 15-24’ and on the right, ‘16% of all worker injuries’.

A woman sits in front of a large window. She has short white hair and wears a blue and green dress.

In a still image, a young blonde man smiles.

CAROL:

In 2007, my son was a 24-year-old first fix carpenter, going to work on a normal basis like everybody else does.

DESCRIPTION:

Carol – Jay’s Mum

CAROL:

While at work, he fell down a hole, smashed his head on concrete and by the time he got to hospital, which was luckily very close, he was bleeding from both ears and virtually almost dead, they said. After lots of tests and things, the brain injury they said he had was so massive that he was likely to be a vegetable for the rest of his life, or he would be in a coma for the rest of his life.

He was a 24-year-old who had a life, and then suddenly he didn't, his whole life revolved around hospital rooms, rehab rooms, and a care facility. Most of his friends all rallied in the first instances, especially at the Royal Adelaide. After that, virtually nobody. And to this day, really, he still really hasn't got many friends left in that sense because, A, he has a lot of trouble talking very clearly, he has a lot of trouble hearing. You get four people together who are all talking and Jay can't hear.

He has lost the art of conversation. If you don't ask him a question, then he's very, very likely not to say anything unless it's a particular thing he's having an issue with, like his phone doesn't work or something like that.

So, ten years on, 10.5 years on, Jay still has issues with his balance.

DESCRIPTION:

A man, Jay, walks carefully across a stretch of grass near a rainwater tank. He has curly red-blonde hair and a goatee beard and wears dark sunglasses, a white tank top and long blue shorts. A small dog trots along behind him.

CAROL:

He can be walking along quite happily and then just fall over to the left.

DESCRIPTION:

Jay stands inside a room and flexes his wrist back and forth as he performs some exercises.

CAROL:

His right leg gets tremors in it that he doesn't have any control over, that then actually goes through the arm and through the upper body. So, it affects his whole arm, especially if he's trying to cut with a knife and fork. It just alters his whole balance, his whole body movement. I'm pretty certain Jay's fairly conscious of that.

DESCRIPTION:

Jay walks around a small kitchen.

CAROL:

OK, the effect that Jay's accident's had on the family is just massive. Where you normally have a son that you can ring up, talk to, he can come visit whenever he likes, he can come and give you a hand at home, now, we have a... That I have to go to him all the time. I have to talk to him in a very, very measured way, or I have to message him on his phone, and it's very difficult.

His youngest son…my youngest son rather, has difficulty because he no longer has an older brother he can look up to. He has an older brother that doesn't understand so many things in life now. My youngest son really struggles as well. He used to aspire to be more like him. Now, he's kind of feeling lost.

My message to you is, you are responsible for your safety. Use whatever safety equipment is available to you. And if it's not available to you, make a fuss. It's your life. Your boss is not going to be around when you've had that accident. He's going to be off doing something else. You are gonna be stuck with it. So, it's up to you when you take that choice.

DESCRIPTION:

TEXT: www.rtwsa.com/YoungWorkers

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