Wooden planks with nails covered the site where Antonio, a construction day laborer in Houston, Texas, was helping clear fencing last December. The contractor that hired him provided no protection, he said – so when he slipped, and a nail struck him just above the ankle, it became “really swollen”.
Antonio was given hydrogen peroxide, and the contractor promised to get him medical attention the next day. But after developing a fever overnight, and with his ankle still swollen, he took himself to the emergency room.
