Family of Victim of Accident in Turkey Blame Bus Driver

Zviad Abuseridze was injured in a car accident in Samsun, Turkey on December 13 of last year. Ever since he has been chained to his bed and is in need of an immediate operation abroad. His family cannot afford his operation and demands the driver to be held responsible.

The accident happened when Abuseridze, on the advice of his friends, was going to Istanbul to seek a job and to earn money for his family. The family members learned about the accident from TV: “By 8 o’clock in the evening we understood that a terrible catastrophe had happened in Turkey.
I felt inside that my son was in trouble. Then I learned about his condition. He was badly injured,” - recalls Otar Abuseridze, father of Zviad.
Besides Zviad, several people were injured during the accident, including Asmat Katamadze from the village of Dagvi. She lost both legs and has become an disabled.
At first, badly injured Zviad Abuseridze was hospitalized in Gudushauri Clinic in Tbilisi. His mother recalls the condition of the patient alarmed the doctors in the clinic: ”If my son had been treated normally in Turkey he would have felt better. They immediately bandaged his injured head without sanitizing the wound. Then he was connected to a respirator and the doctors were just waiting for his death. The doctors in Tbilisi explained me if the wound had been washed out by water from the very beginning my son would not be in his present state,” - declares Nanuli Abuseridze, the mother of Zviad.

After two months of treatment in Gudushauri Clinic, Abuseridze was hospitalized in Batumi Hospital #1. Later, because his health deteriorated he was sent back to Gudushauri Clinic. During this period the only result was that he managed to move his leg; his health condition remained bad. Abuseridze has only received a 200 lari voucher from the government for the injuries he sustained during this accident. Several days ago he was examined by an MRI scanner. The scan indicated that Abuseridze’s health was deteriorating. “According to Nugzar Gurgenidze, the doctor, my son needs plastic surgery to his head. But we really do not have money for it,” - claims Zviad’s father.

Zviad was not able to be aware of the birth of his baby. His son is already 7 months old. His wife studies at Batumi University. “It is difficult for us to pay the tuition fee. We asked the university rector last year not to expel my daughter-in-law from university and she is still studying there. We have also requested assistance from Kakha Lomaia, the Minister of Education and Science, and explained our situation.”

The family demands the driver to be held responsible and requires financial aid from him: “The driver did not even assist us with one tetri. He justified himself and said the roads were wet. Everything costs 12 000 lari. My neighbors collected 5 lari each and help us as much as they can.”
The Abuseridze’s applied to the Court and lodged a complaints against Vepkhvia Khajishvili, the driver who comes from Sachkhere.

The family is poor. Mr. Otar distributes pensions among the villagers and received 30 lari for this job. The family income is also the pension of Zviad and his mother. Nanuli Abuseridze states that the pension given to his son is not sufficient: “It is not fair to appoint the same pensions to the disabled and to ordinary people. I can move independently and have 55 lari while my son is disabled and needs 70 lari only for pampers, I do not even count the costs of food.”

The Abuseridze’s hope that the treatment abroad will be worthwhile. And that’s why they demand compensation from the driver. 
26-Year-old Zviad Abuseridze lives with his family in the village of Jabnidzeebi in the Shuakhevi region. Several days ago he was hospitalized in Batumi because they were afraid to leave him at home while the village roads were being closed for winter. Nowadays, he lives with his sister in a temporary shelter, the so-called Gorodok settlement.

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi.