WENZHOU, China — When a high-speed train rammed into the rear of a second train on July 23 on a viaduct outside this eastern coastal city, the impact cost Chen Lihua, a 38-year-old father of two, eight broken ribs, a punctured lung and one shattered kneecap. His brother died of head wounds.

Those were the injuries. The insults came later.

Mr. Chen said he lost roughly $6,000 in cash and other belongings in the accident. The railways ministry paid him a mere $35.

He asked to be transferred from a Wenzhou hospital to a better hospital in the city of Fuzhou, his hometown. Instead, the ministry moved him to an old-age home, where he receives no medical treatment, despite continuing lung trouble, back pain and other ailments due to his injuries.

“I want to cry, but I have no tears left,” he said. “Our family has already lost someone in this accident. How can they treat us like this? I am being tortured both physically and mentally.”