Law student Zhou Weijie,confined to a wheelchair after a life-changing accident, says he plans to join the legal aid center to help the disadvantaged. (China Daily) |
Zhou Weijie will never forget the date Aug 26, 2010.
While the 21-year-old law student from Anhui University of Technology was crossing the street late that afternoon, a taxi knocked him down and he became unconscious.
In the following months, Zhou underwent one treatment after another, and the hospital bills piled up to 200,000 yuan ($32,000), until he came out of his coma.
Although Zhou got back his life, he was paralyzed below the waist.
Zhou says his parents borrowed 150,000 yuan from a loan shark to pay the medical bills.
As it was a hit-and-run case, the family could not claim compensation from the taxi driver.
Insurance company also rejected their claims because of the lack of legal proceedings.
During the family's most desperate moments, Gao Guangliang - Zhou's law professor, who is also a partner with a legal aid center in Ma'anshan city in Anhui province - came forward to lend a helping hand.
"I visited Zhou and his parents soon after the accident and asked whether they needed free legal support. I reckoned the family must be going through a hard time, both emotionally and financially," Gao says.
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