Pay me for my finger – Farm worker wants compensation after accident 

A Clarendon man who lost one of his fingers on the farm work programme in 1991 is seeking compensation for the loss of the digit, arguing that the injury has prevented him from carrying out his job effectively.

Garfield Palmer, 57, said that while he was working on a farm in Canada, one of his fingers was chopped off while he was on a tractor his boss was operating.

“Five years after me lose the finger, I got a claim form from the farm for me to get compensation for the injury,” Palmer said. “I sent my particulars to my liaison officer, but I haven’t heard anything since.”

According to Palmer, the finger has prevented him working for long hours. “When I work for any amount of time it get really stiff,” Palmer said.

Come forward

Carlton Anderson, chief liaison officer at the Jamaica Liaison Service in Canada, told THE STAR that while he will do his best to investigate Palmer’s case, he is urging farm workers to come forward with their complaints before it is too late.

“To track this case down is going to be difficult. Sometimes you can’t find any records to match those claims, especially one from 1991,” Anderson said.

“Every trip that come and we meet them at the airport, we remind them that they have follow-up on these cases because if you left it entirely up to the employers, it might not happen.”