In November 2011, Karol M., suffered at accident at work on a construction site in Warsaw. He was employed illegally and did not have proper safety equipment, not even a helmet. He was also not insured. He fell into a coma. The owner of the temporary work agency Jerzy Madziarowicz-MIX denied that Karol worked for him. The family decided to fight, so that other workers would not be harmed by Madziarowicz and to get compensation for Karol.

Luckily, Karol regained consciousness and is undergoing rehabilitation. But he is far from well. The family was deterred from making a civil case against Madziarowicz because the State Labour Inspectorate and Public Prosecutor's office, which would provide evidence for the civil suit, did not want to act. This is typical when dealing with the illegally employed. Then the bosses argue that the authorities found "nothing wrong" when they weren't even investigating.

Neither of these institutions wanted to do anything about the case. If it weren't for the persistence of the family and some support from us, they would have ignored the whole thing. As it is, they tried to close the case. Thanks to an appeal, there is now a court ruling to reopen the investigation.

There was also a new report on the case on the radio. We hope that other workers hear about this case and think carefully before accepting illegal jobs in construction and will get together and fight in mutual self-defense.