Zhou Guiwang received compensation after being paralysed in a work accident (photo by PIDLI)

Zhou Guiwang is a tragic victim of China's drive to modernize. But his story also highlights how legal workers are sometimes able to assert the rights of the country's most vulnerable citizens.

Mr Zhou was paralyzed from the neck down after being crushed during the building of a tunnel on a new road in Hubei province. The accident killed two people and injured three.

Mr Zhou's son-in-law Liu Qinghua went to the worksite twice and was offered just 30,000 RMB (£2,800) in compensation. He said the boss had "no compassion and a bad attitude." So he approached a legal aid centre and a worker was dispatched to talk to the company involved; it took him three days to get to the isolated spot in the depths of Hubei.

Bosses told him Mr Zhou's injuries were not their responsibility and he was asked to leave, and physically threatened. The worker threatened to sue but was worried that the road would be completed, and the firm's bosses long gone, before that process would be completed.

Asking around, he found out that the accident had not been reported to the authorities. He told the road-building firm he would report this to officials; the bosses then agreed to pay 300,500 RMB (£28,000). Mr Liu said this was the highest amount of compensation paid that he had ever heard of in Hubei. (Helen Leavey)

Programme:
Improving Access to Justice

Related Links:
Wuhan University Public Interest and Development Law Institute (PIDLI)