Content Warning: This story contains material that may be distressing for some people.
For Francy Paola Molina, a young Colombian international student living in Australia, the joy of finding employment on her temporary visa lasted less than three months.
One night in October 2020, when she had only a few minutes left before the end of her shift in an assisted living residence, Ms Molina says she sustained a work-related injury, following an alleged physical attack.
"I remember a very strong blow. And then, even though I wasn't fully conscious, my eyes weren't open, I felt the kicks and punches," Ms Molina recalls.
When the attack finally ended, I was unconscious on the floor... I opened my eyes and I didn't know where I was. I didn't understand what had happened to me. Everything hurt, my body hurt, my face hurt.Francy Molina, an international student injured while at work.
After the alleged assault, she says that all she could think about was that she had to pick up her daughter, Naia, who was waiting for her at ballet school.
But before getting into her car, Ms Molina says she remembers that she filled out a form to report the incident and then left to pick up her daughter.
“When I arrived, I said to my girl: 'My love, something happened to me'. And I started crying. And I said: 'I don't know what happened to me, I don't know if I fainted, I don't know, but I'm very tired'. And then, I couldn't move. After that, I couldn't move anymore. I mean, my body just... stopped," she says.
Allegedly a resident of the institution revealed his participation in the incident
Ms Molina says that after they got home, she received a call from a fellow staff member asking how she was doing, and offering help. She was told a resident of the institution had approached the staff to let them know he had taken part in the incident.
Naia sought medical attention for her mum.
“I called the ambulance. Her face was already swollen, and had started to break out in bumps and bruises," Naia says.
Medical reports seen by SBS Spanish state that Ms Molina suffered a fracture to the right side of her face and contusions to her torso.
Faced with mounting medical bills, the Colombian woman contacted her employer and a claim was sent to WorkCover, Queensland's workers' compensation insurance body, to request payment for treatment for her injuries and loss of income.
WorkCover Queensland then sent Ms Molina to different doctors to evaluate her case, accepted the claim and began paying for doctors, studies and basic required treatments.
In the weeks that followed, Ms Molina was also diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), neck distension, inflammation in her right arm and memory loss.
WorkCover Queensland, which is a self-funded agency under the Queensland government, also arranged for her to have assistance at home and receive psychological care, with the aim of getting her back to work.
Ms Molina's employer also claims to have paid her an additional fee immediately after the incident to help with her expenses.
The 'invisible' injury
However, as time passed, Ms Molina says she began to develop other conditions such as hearing loss, momentarily blurred vision, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, problems communicating, insomnia, dizziness as well as fainting and loss of consciousness.
Twenty-two months on after the injury, WorkCover Queensland is still covering some of the costs for medical appointments and a weekly payment to help support Ms Molina and her daughter.
However, she complains that the amount she is receiving does not compare to the income she was earning before she was injured.
For months, Francy Molina has had to use a wheelchair for mobility.
Now in a wheelchair, she says that her movements are increasingly limited and her multiple ailments grow by the day.
Ms Molina claims she is impaired and unable to return to work. She worries as she is running out of funds and becoming a physical burden on her child.
However, she says what weighs on her the most is that WorkCover Queensland has not yet accepted her FND diagnosis and therefore she has not started treatment for it.
I'm trying to move heaven and earth so I can get treatment. WorkCover has been quite complicated. I know it's complicated, but they've made my life more difficult than the incident in itself.Francy Molina, Colombian student.
According to Dr Joaquín Pereyra, surgeon and psychiatrist, member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of Australia and New Zealand, FND is related to symptoms of the nervous system that have no apparent cause or cannot be attributed to a neurological disease or other specific medical condition. And, like most psychological or psychiatric conditions, it has no definitive cure.
“It depends on how you intervene, when you intervene and what type of treatment you receive," Dr Pereyra explains.
"There are actually good treatment options, which are mainly psychological or psychotherapy, and if there is an adequate intervention, then the prognosis improves. If there is no type of care, the prognosis is less positive."
SBS Spanish contacted WorkCover Queensland to ask how long they would take to respond to cases such as Ms Molina's, but they declined to provide details citing their privacy policies.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “WorkCover aims to make a decision on claims within 20 business days. However, in some cases it may take longer if we cannot obtain the right information to make that decision.”
After an accident at work, workers with temporary visas face more obstacles
Ms Molina's case reached the office of Greens state MP, Michael Berkman, who sent a letter to the Queensland Minister of Industrial Relations, Grace Grace, advocating for the Colombian student.
In an interview with SBS Spanish, the parliamentarian stated that it seemed to him that WorkCover Queensland was not dealing fairly with Ms Molina's case.
"That's why we've written to the Minister for Industrial Relations, who has a controlling stake in WorkCover. We've asked the Minister to step in and make sure that WorkCover acknowledges the FND diagnosis that Francy is being given and fund the necessary treatment," Mr Berkman said.
Mr Berkman further noted that Ms Molina's case clearly exemplified how WorkCover was not really designed to support workers, but rather sought to minimise costs wherever possible. And this, he added, became even more evident when it came to workers on temporary visas.
By excluding migrant workers and international students, the cost of WorkCover to the government is minimised.Michael Berkman, MP for the Greens party in Queensland.
“This has really drastic impacts preventing people from accessing free healthcare and disability support when they need. These folks like Francy need the support every bit as much as anyone else in Australia,” Mr Berkman adds.
Mr Berkman says he believes Ms Molina's case is an example of why there needs to be an urgent reform of the workers' compensation scheme, to guarantee support for all workers, regardless of their visa status.
That reform must come through the federal government. But I am very interested in continuing to rely on this example to show the Minister that they need to expand WorkCover and make it more widely available and ensure that everyone working in Queensland has the right support.
Although adequate care is essential for anyone dealing with a temporary or permanent disability resulting from a workplace injury, for Australian temporary visas holders, having access to medical and receiving income support can also be the difference between being able to stay or having to leave the country.
Uncertain future in Australia
And this is the case for Ms Molina, who, unable to work, cannot pay for her studies and meet her visa conditions. Therefore, her future in this country is uncertain.
For now, the most urgent matter for Ms Molina is for WorkCover Queensland to accept her claim for FND and to begin treatment, in the hope to halt the rapid progression of her ailments.
“I am looking for help, but not for financial help," she says.
"My fight is to receive the treatment I need now, because the people at WorkCover have been told since April.
"We are past the middle of the year, I have been without treatment for about three months, without any help ... every week for me is terrible, because every week I am seeing what FND is doing to me.
"I don't know if I'm going to be the same person by the time they finally decide to approve the treatment."
Click on the icon below the title of this article to listen the full story in Spanish.
