Three migrant workers injured in a horrific crash this week will be eligible for health care coverage from the Workers Safety and Insurance Board, a representative of the group said Thursday.

WSIB spokesperson Christine Arnott told CTVNews.ca the agency, which governs coverage for injured workers in Ontario, was putting together a plan for the men, the only survivors in the 14-person crash in southern Ontario on Monday. She said she would be releasing more details later in the day.

At least one of the crash survivors is improving. Juan Ariza, 35, was initially taken to a Stratford hospital in critical condition, but is now listed in fair condition at the London Health Sciences Centre. Javier Abelardo Alba-Medina, 38, is also at the London hospital in fair condition.

The family of Edgar Sulla-Puma, 26, who was airlifted from the crash site to Hamilton General Hospital in critical condition, has asked the hospital not to release further updates to the public.

Earlier this week, the WSIB told the Ontario Federation of Labour that families of the 10 deceased migrant workers would also be eligible for compensation.

But despite the WSIB's assurances, a group of legal aid lawyers is warning that the survivors may not end up with the treatment they deserve. The Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario says that if recent trends continue, the men are likely to be deported and lose access to workers' compensation.

"We're very pleased to hear that families of the men who died will receive compensation, but at the same time, we have to ask what's going to happen to the men who survived," Maryth Yachnin, a lawyer with the group, told CTV News Channel Thursday.

"In our experience, what happens to migrant workers is shortly after (they get injured), they are deported to their home country," and lose any rights to compensation benefits, she said.

"Frankly, we think it's absurd," Yachnin said, adding that many migrant workers don't report their injuries out of fear of deportation.

"We see this very often. Farm work and work that migrant labourers do for us, to put food on our tables as Canadians, is some of the most dangerous work in this country," she said.

The victims' group says the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board often avoids payments by insisting the claimant can find another job in the province. But for migrant workers, whose visas are short-term and tied to their employer, that is rarely the case.

"I wish the board would set a precedent for migrant workers in Canada based on this horrific accident," Yachnin said.

Crash shakes rural community

The workers, a group of Peruvian men, died Monday when a flatbed truck and a 2007 GMC Savanna passenger van collided shortly before 5 p.m. northeast of Stratford, Ont.

Driver David Armando Blancas-Hernandez, who was among the 11 people killed, did not brake at a stop sign and failed to yield to traffic with the right of way, OPP Insp. Scott Lawson said on Wednesday. "It was this action that caused the collision."

Ten of the 13 men who were in the van died, as did the 38-year-old truck driver.

The van required a Class F licence because it had more than 10 seats. Police said Wednesday that Blancas-Hernandez only had a G-class licence, which could limit auto insurance payments made to the victims.

The workers had been working at a poultry farm vaccinating chickens near the crash site.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Stratford, Ont., will host a non-denominational prayer service for the crash victims on Friday at 7 p.m. The local diocese says the service will host victims of the crash and their families, and will pay tribute to the emergency workers who responded to the scene.

Meanwhile, Fulton's employers have set up a CIBC trust fund to provide financial assistance to his family. Members of the public interested in donating can go to any branch of the bank and reference the Fulton Family Trust (transit and account numbers 07612/52-04313).

--With files from The Canadian Press