Father of 3 – paralyzed after worksite accident – dies

Rahbindra Chandradat, a father of three who resided at Better Hope Centre Ground Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), died this morning – almost two years after he was severely injured after a workplace accident.

On May 1, 2023, the 34-year-old former construction he fell approximately 20 feet from a building at a worksite in Turkeyen, ECD, and broke his back as a consequence.

He was left paralyzed since. Last week, he underwent surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after developing bedsores or pressure ulcers, which are  injuries to the skin and the tissue below the skin that are due to prolonged pressure.

Since the surgery, however, the man’s condition began to rapidly deteriorate until he died this morning at the GPHC.

Prior to his demise, this publication had interviewed Chandradat who had recalled the events of the day he sustained his injuries.

The father of three had explained that his employer had dispatched him to inspect the top of the building; and as he stepped on a beam, he was suddenly blinded by “something”, causing him to lose his footing. As a result, he plummeted to the ground.

That fall resulted in him sustaining severe spinal cord damage, which necessitated urgent medical intervention, prompting his transfer to a private hospital, where he underwent critical surgery costing $1.2 million. Six screws were implanted in his back to address the extensive damage to his spinal cord; and he had been confined to bed, unable to provide for his wife and three young children.

Prior to this accident, Chandradat was the primary breadwinner for his family. Since he became incapacitated, his wife was forced to undertake menial jobs to support the family, and is unable to pursue full-time employment due to the demands of caregiving.

“I just want to be able to help my children. I grew up very poor, and I don’t want my children to suffer and go through the same things I went through. I had to start working since I was 12 years old, and so I didn’t get to go far in school,” the man had expressed to this publication in February last year.