Turkish insurance authorities to pay compensation to paralyzed Russian man
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet
Gülsüm Kabadayı (R) who has been “a volunteer mom” to the Russian man (L), who was given Turkish citizenship and named Mustafa Öz. DHA photo
Turkey’s Assurance Account is set to pay 125,000 Turkish Liras in compensation to the Russian man who became permanently paralyzed after an accident in Antalya in 2008.While the compensation money is supposed to be handed over to the Russian man, who was given Turkish citizenship and named Mustafa Öz, it will instead be given to a social security officer acting as his guardian in Antalya.
The money is expected to be provided to Gülsüm Kabadayı who has been “a volunteer mom” to Öz since 2008 to assist with covering his expenses.
Kabadayı found the Russian boy when he was 17 years old, unconscious and undergoing treatment in an Antalya hospital. When no one came to claim him, Kabadayı chose to stay with the boy, naming him Umut, meaning “Hope.”
She stayed with him in the hospital for over 300 days, 110 of which Umut spent in intensive care. Umut soon received a Turkish ID card, identifying him as Mustafa Öz, and was placed under state care upon his release.
The Assurance Account meets the medical treatment expenses of those who suffer bodily injuries, disabilities and death, and pays disability indemnities to those who become disabled in accidents even if they are not Turkish citizens, the institution’s manager Kadir Küçük said, according to the daily Hürriyet.
Kadir Küçük, the head of the institution, said Kabadayı or Öz’s guardian social security officer can apply for the compensation now, although the money would have been much higher if the application was made in 2008 at the time accident occurred.
Kabadayı became an overnight hero when she appeared on a Russian TV show on Jan. 23, calling for the authorities to find the relatives of the Russian boy. Since then five Russian mothers have claimed that Öz was their lost son but none of them have been able to prove the claim yet.
