Member News: Changing careers after injury
ETC, News & Tips, 31 August 2020
Imagine having a workplace accident or injury which means you can no longer continue working in your trade and have to change careers.
Plasterer William Jago fell four foot and broke both his elbows and a knee in the peak of his career. A long road to recovery saw him on Workers Compensation for six years before he was able to return to work.
“To this day I still can’t straighten my arm out fully. I’ve been operated on a couple of times and they won’t give me a new elbow until I’m 65,” William said.
“So I have to be really careful about what I do. I couldn’t continue with plastering because when I carry something heavy and release the pressure I get intense pain.
“I don’t like to say I’m disabled, but it has restricted what I can and can’t do.”
Despite having a passion for plastering, William knew deep down that he had to change careers.
“I went kicking and screaming. I loved plastering – as they say, if you love your job, you never work a day in your life. But I know I’m not a young man anymore and need to look to the future. I don’t want to be 70 and still doing that with aches and pains,” he said.
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