A 16-year-old boy is recovering in hospital from serious injuries after being hit by a falling sheet of plywood at his workplace in Henderson.
Taj Terry was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital after the incident on Tuesday, September 13, where he received emergency surgery and was put into a coma.
WorkSafe spokeswoman Caroline De Vaney said an investigation had been launched into the incident.
“WorkSafe can confirm that it is investigating an incident last week at Henderson in which a male was struck by a wooden sheet that was blown into him by strong winds,” she said.
The sheet of wood had come off a worksite and struck Terry on the left side of his body as he was walking with his boss.
He sustained injuries to his ribs and spine, a laceration to his kidney and had to have his spleen removed.
Since his life-saving surgery he also developed an infection and blood clots in his lungs. Terry’s family said despite all odds his attitude remained strong and positive.
“There has been a lot of setbacks, but today has been really positive which is really nice,” they said.
“He’s been so, so positive through the whole thing, he’s never once been like, ‘Poor me’.”
Terry is now seven days into recovery and his family said he was proving his strength and eagerness to get back to health.
“They wanted him to sit in a chair for about 20 minutes to try and help his lung capacity so he can take deep breaths and he ended up pushing himself to go for a couple of hours,” they said.
A GoFundMe page set up by his family exceeded its goal in 24 hours, accumulating almost $6000 in two days.
The money will go towards Terry’s recovery plan, which is yet to be determined, and his parents who have been by his side throughout the entire process.
His family said they were moved by the response and plan to spread awareness about workplace injuries in the future.
“We are so thankful for all the support. It wasn’t really about raising a huge amount of money, just enough to get his parents by for the next couple weeks until there was a more solid plan,” they said.
“Not even just the donations, the sharing of the GoFund Me if people couldn’t donate and just raising awareness of workplace incidents.”
The CFMEU declined to comment but confirmed it was working with WorkSafe on the investigation.
Source: WA Today
