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September 27, 2007

Workers comp hearing today for Mexican man

PROVIDENCE -- Edgar Velásquez wanted his day in court, and now he will get it.

Velásquez, a Mexican man who slashed his face open with a chain saw while working for the owner of a Warwick tree service, returned to Rhode Island yesterday on a humanitarian permit issued by the U.S. government, so he can to pursue a worker’s compensation case against William J. Gorman Jr., his former employer.

Velásquez had been living in the country illegally and was deported last year after being picked up by immigration agents outside the J. Joseph Garrahy courthouse on the day of a scheduled hearing. By law, Velásquez is entitled to pursue a workers’ compensation claim, regardless of his undocumented status.

"I am not afraid, I’m going to tell the truth as I lived it … of what happened on the day of the accident and how I was treated by Mr. Gorman,” said Velasquez in an interview yesterday afternoon.

Read more about Velásquez
Read projo.com's ongoing series on immigration

-- Journal staff writer Karen Lee Ziner

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 10:20 AM | Permalink

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