法律援助署五十周年紀念特刊 | Legal Aid Department 50th Anniversary Commemorative Publication

法治基石、彰顯公義 Legal Aid for the Rule of Law and Justice P.90 當時是中學生的周小姐，事發後感到非 常徬徨。 Ms Chow, a Form Five student, felt very helpless and lost after the tragedy. Patience and Determination Initially, the Department assigned an expatriate lawyer to handle Chow’s case. Due to language barrier, the social worker suggested the family request a Chinese-speaking lawyer. Chow, at a time a student preparing for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, summoned all her courage and wrote a letter in English to the Department, expressing her family’s wish to have a Chinese-speaking lawyer. The Department soon acceded to their request and assigned another suitable lawyer as their legal representative. Like most people, Chow and her mother were unfamiliar with the law and claim procedures involved in a case like this. Fortunately, their lawyer tirelessly explained every complex detail to them to make sure that they understood everything and could make the most informed decisions for themselves. In order to secure the amount of compensation the family was entitled to, he needed to make sure that every piece of information from his client was accurate. “When asking about our financial circumstances, he would phrase his questions in different ways and ask us repeatedly in order to confirm that all our answers were correct,” Chow says. “I could feel his patience and determination. He made great efforts to get to know us and help us overcome the difficulties.” Twenty years ago, the idea of taking out insurance policy was not that prevalent amongst ordinary people. After the accident, the Chow’s family could only pursue against the father’s employer, who had taken out insurance policy for employees' compensation. It was not a huge amount, but enough to greatly lessen the financial burden of the family at the time. “The Department helped us get the compensation. Since then, our quality of life was not as good as that when father was still alive, but at least we did not have to worry about our living,” Chow says. 耐心解釋 積極爭取 起初，法援署安排了一位外籍外委律師處理周家的個案，但由 於語言不通，社工建議她們要求更換一位說中文的律師。作為 應屆會考生的周小姐，於是鼓氣勇氣特地寫了一封英文信給法 援署，希望署方安排另一位律師。不久，署方應要求安排了另 一位合適的外委律師，作為她們的法律代表。 一般人對這類個案的法律和申索程序難免感到陌生。幸好，外 委律師對此不厭其煩，將複雜的細節一一向她們解釋，確保他 們在了解透徹的情況下，作出最明智的決定。由於不希望家屬 因顧慮收入和積蓄而影響賠償的金額，律師需要確保所得的資 料正確無誤。「在詢問我們的經濟狀況時，他會用不同形式詢 問數次，反覆確認。」周小姐指：「我感受到他的耐心，用心 了解我們的家庭背景，幫助我們解決困難。」 二十多年前，不少人仍未有購買保險的習慣。因此，在父親發 生意外後，周家只能向已購買僱員補償保險的父親僱主提出訴 訟。金額雖然不多，但已大大減輕了周家當時的經濟負擔。 「經法援署協助爭取到賠償後，生活雖然比不上爸爸在世時那 樣，但在經濟上總算令我們免於徬徨。」