Work related accident, I need your opinion please.

Hello guys,

Well, long story short, I got an injury at my work in a construction site, a rebar went right through my tight leaving a hole in each side with like 11 stitches… A nightmare lol.

Anyway, I started working with this company like in may this year and I found out after I got injured that they didn’t put me in work insurance til the day I got hurt , they asked me to tell the police and ER people that I only started work in that company this month, October… Also they asked me to resume work on Monday, like just to be there at the construction site to avoid the insurance people “rosai” from coming to investigate if I took like more than 3 days off work … Now I really can’t move my leg that much and I don’t know if I’m qualify to take benefits til I heal my injury.

What should I do ?

Cheers to you and thank you 😊

Tldr;
When I got hurt at the construction site, they didnt call an ambulance for me but instead told me to go to the nearest hospital, I had to drive with my injured leg back to home to meet my wife “japanese btw” then she called the ambulance, the police came right after that to question me about the injury and take all the necessary information… The thing is that I got injured in a work site of another construction company that we help from time to time… So anyway the supervisor asked me to tell the police that I didnt get injured in the said construction site but rather in another construction site that is managed by our company…. I felt something off about it anyway.
Anyway, the boss didn’t call me to check on me at least and nobody from company came to visit me or like just help a bit since I have to go to hospital everyday this week to clean the injury and take out the draining tube that they put through my leg.
I seriously don’t know whats the right thing to do now and my wife is so stressed and worried that she only focuses on me getting better hhh.

Anyway, I joined this company as a full time worker, they promised me benefits after the 3 months trial period , but after that period I didn’t get nothing , even they didn’t remove income tax from my salary, like I used to get 100% of my salary .

29 comments
  1. Don’t do what they’re telling you to do. They’re criminally taking advantage of you, and it’s you who will suffer both physically and financially. Go to the 労働局 of where you live and tell them exactly everything you wrote here!
    Start looking for another job, you don’t really want to work in a place like that. That’s just waiting for another problem to happen. Don’t quit before everything is legally settled though.

  2. Fuck them, and fuck them hard, very hard.

    If they are playing these games with you, it means they are playing with the safety of -everyone-, including the clients, the passerbys, etc. This is a absolute nogo in the construction industry and any industry for that matter.

    The good news is that even if they did not register to “rosai”, you will be covered (and they will be in deep, deep shit) if your injury is deemed to be work related (and well… a rebar on a construction site….).

    The deed is done, they are in deep and murky shit, they know it. You should not work for this company ever, again.

    EDIT : this really upsets me… You should actually call the police while you are at it and mention that your company suggests to commit fraud, and you could and should contact a lawyer. They’ll have a field day.

    EDIT2 : looking at what you added

    >I joined this company as a full time worker, they promised me benefits after the 3 months trial period , but after that period I didn’t get nothing , even they didn’t remove income tax from my salary,

    This is bullshit of the highest order. Benefits are not optional. Do you get a payslip, do you have some sort of working contract or a work notice ? On top of the rosai fraud there seems to be going on, the rabbit hole probably goes quite deep with multiple frauds going on. It’s likely they are frightened shitless of the situation and they’ll cut bridges with you as soon as they can, don’t expect anything, get a lawyer, now.

  3. You need a lawyer. The company needs to cover your insurance, this is not optional. They are likely breaking employment law. What they are doing is to retroactively enroll you in insurance. This is likely insurance fraud.
    There are too many unknowns here. Visa status, employment contract, medical situation etc. You need professional help. Normally you would want to visit the labor standards office, but if they investigate your company and it goes under you may complicate your situation.

  4. Labor office..file a crime/fraud report to police.

    [https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/soudan/foreigner_eng.html](https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/soudan/foreigner_eng.html)

    [https://www.mhlw.go.jp/new-info/kobetu/roudou/gyousei/kantoku/dl/161108-02.pdf](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/new-info/kobetu/roudou/gyousei/kantoku/dl/161108-02.pdf)

    [https://www.houterasu.or.jp/multilingual/workplace_and_labor.html#cms78416](https://www.houterasu.or.jp/multilingual/workplace_and_labor.html#cms78416)

  5. First: holy shit! I’m really sorry that happened to you.

    Second: do you have any contract or even messages as proof of when you began to work? I think even the time sheet (attendance sheet at the site) could be used.

    And then my advice is to go to the work inspection and tell them all of this.

    If you need any help please let me know and I’ll try to help as much as possible.

    Because this is also a security problem, the person in charge of security is liable too.

  6. Sorry to hear! I hope you recover soon!

    First, don’t start working on Monday. Take all the time you need to get better because this will affect the rest of your life. Your health comes first.

    Second, what already has been said a few times: don’t lie and contact the labor office / police.
    Your company knew they screwed up and try to involve you in the crime to cover their ass but it which will have so much negative impact on you for a long time!

  7. first of all, I’m so sorry you got hurt. I really hope you recover well.

    and second, why on earth would you lie to cover for your criminal company? they put your life at risk and broke the law. call the labor bureau/cops and also a lawyer probably. you should be in for a nice payday

  8. Lots of good advice below already, but the company is asking to commit fraud. Definitely do not listen to them. They’re sooo in the wrong here and you do have rights.

    Call the offices below asap before saying anything else to your employer. A work related injury/accident/illness will be covered by insurance: something like leave paid up to 66% of your pay for up to 18 months + medical expenses + transportation to doctors/hospitals.

    Gather any information you have that proves you’ve been working there. Only talk to them through written communication, preferably email or text messages – if they block you on LINE, for example, your whole conversation could be deleted from your phone.

  9. The fact that no one drove you to the hospital speaks volumes about how this company lacks any kind of care for their employees.

    Sadly this is becoming a huge problem with construction companies hiring foreigners who don’t know their rights and get exploited by bad pay and working conditions. If you can try to find another company ASAP.

  10. Blackest of Black companies. You need to report them.

    Edit just read about it being a Yakuza company. That does complicate things. I would seek a lawyer’s advice.

  11. Sadly there are a lot of small construction companies wherein they are actual Yakuzas or just wannabe-gangster toughguys. For large construction sites, they enforce to not deal with these Yakuza companies since they tend to skimp on legal stuff like insurance and tax payments. They steal salary of foreign trainees (jishuusei) under the guise of “living expenses” and such, they don’t pay income tax and pay straight cash etc. -> Take note that other black companies do this, but your statement that they are “Yakuza” is another degree of a problem in its own.

    If you are sure that the company is actual Yakuza-owned then you have limited options if you don’t want to worry for your family’s well-being every single day if you go to the authorities like the police or Roudoukyoku. I’m sorry to not have any helpful advice except from don’t work for a company that have direct ties to Yaks. There might be a chance that they won’t retaliate if you fuck them over but are you willing to risk it?

    Best case now is to try to talk to your boss that you will quit and promise that you will not say anything to anyone regarding the incident. Worst case is that you will be a gaijin scapegoat when some of their other shady deals come down.

    OP I genuinely hope you can find another job. There are still lots of small companies that are Yakuza owned that work on small construction on the field of rebar, carpentry, scaffolding, interior finishing and painting. Steer clear of those guys.

    If you are in construction, how about considering HVAC, electrical, controls etc? Yakuza companies doesn’t bother a lot with trades that require some brains and technical knowledge (this is personal experience).

  12. Do you really need randoms on the internet to tell you that this whole situation is fucked and you need to contact the police, the labour board, and a lawyer, like right now? FFS

  13. What exactly is your residence status OP?

    I thought this was going to be another case were an employer does have a worker on work-related accident insurance but can’t be bothered with the technicality of applying it during an actual accident. I’ve experienced this myself, being injured at work (way mild compared to yours), and was made to go to the hospital alone. I have heard people getting assistance from being injured when commuting to work so I was puzzled and done some reading on these. This “mild” case of mine is already litigable despite it being small and arguable. I could have gone to a designated hospital even without my managers say.

    I, like other people here, find it questionable why you are looking for online opinion on something clearly illegal. Are you more worried for being associated with something illegal? Noticing you weren’t taxed but keepin mum? Maybe consult with your embassy too when you consult with a lawyer and the labor regulatory board.

  14. Here’s the contact information for the [Telephone Consultation Service for Foreign Workers](https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/soudan/foreigner_eng.html)

    You need to call them, explain the situation, and they will advise you of the correct steps to take and the other government agencies to involve. Leave nothing out, you don’t have to identify the company if you just want advice.

    The criminal aspect of your employers is obviously worrisome – you can decide for yourself at the end if you want to identify the company once you have a better understanding of how the agencies can help you.

  15. welcome to the Japanese construction industry. the amount of illegal shit I’ve seen is insane.

    sorry this happened to you

  16. As some other redditor said, this indeed gets me…

    First of all, hope that you get better soon.

    I assume then you are on the kokuminhoken and you are paying for your insurance? ( if not, then this is another BIG problem, basically have to pay 3x amount)
    I assume you are a spouse visa holder, but this could mean big trouble when trying to renovate the visa also.
    They have your driver’s license copy so they know where you live and thats a completely bully/black way of having you as an employee.

    You have to get the police involved in this one. Preferably NOT a local police like your local koban but a big place of your city.

  17. > a rebar went right through my tight leaving a hole in each side with like 11 stitches…

    That is metal af

  18. I wish you all the luck. Really sucks that you had to go through this. Hope you can sue their ass to oblivion and get a huge payday.

  19. Question, did you take pictures of the rebar for evidence?
    How did you remove it?
    It’s very risky to remove on site before the medic arrived. There are big artery in the leg, you could lose a lot of blood and fast.
    Them asking you to go to hospital by yourself is literally playing with your life.

    This is certainly a black company. You better leave it. They don’t take workers safety seriously, while it should be the most important thing in a construction site.

  20. Hope you get well soon!
    The company cannot get away from this easily.
    You should talk with the labor office or a lawyer.

  21. Theres red flags all over the place for your company. Do you love your job? I would rather do other average paying work than work at a sketchy construction company. Get well soon!

  22. Lawyer up for advice immediately. Contact a few and use the one that you feel most confident about.

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