Anglo asked to waive cutoff on silicosis cases

Anglo asked to waive cutoff on silicosis cases.

Cape Town - Lawyers for former gold miners who have brought damages claims against Anglo American after the miners became ill from silicosis have asked the company to waive time limits that could prevent thousands of others from bringing similar claims.

Nine test cases are pending in the Johannesburg high court.

Richard Meeran, the attorney from Slater and Gordon, the Australian law firm that is bringing the action, said yesterday that time was running out for thousands of victims of respiratory illness who were awaiting the outcome of the test cases.

Meeran said Anglo American could elect to enforce or waive a strict three-year time limit on claims under South African law.

If Anglo enforced the time limit, the entitlements of thousands of injured miners could be lost, he said.

Unlike British and Australian law, South African law did not allow any discretion to override the three-year time limit. Class actions in the US and Australia had the effect of suspending prescription, Meeran said.

In an open letter to Anglo, Meeran said he presumed it was not part of the legal strategy of Anglo American to trump the critical right of the ill workers to compensation while the test cases were in progress.

"Given the state of health and poverty of silicosis victims, such a strategy would indeed be both immoral and cynical.

"This is especially so in view of the long-standing policy of the corporation to effectively 'wash its hands' of responsibility for the health of miners who develop incurable, debilitating and frequently fatal mining-related diseases after leaving employment," Meeran said.

Silicosis usually developed between 10 and 30 years after dust exposure, he said.

It would be in the interest of all parties and the administrative convenience of the court for the test cases to be used for the resolution of key legal issues in silicosis litigation, rather than a mass of litigation on behalf of each and every individual victim, Meeran said.

In its response, Anglo said yesterday that South African legislation made express provision for the payment of compensation for occupational diseases through statutory compensation schemes.

The purpose of these schemes was to provide a government-administered process for the payment of compensation to workers out of a fund to which gold mining and other companies had for many years been contributing in accordance with their legal obligation to do so.

Miners affected by silicosis, particularly former miners living in rural areas, appeared to experience practical difficulties in obtaining benefit examinations, treatment and statutory compensation benefits.

"Sensitive to these issues, representatives of the mining industry, the unions and government are working together to find practical and sustainable solutions to overcome these difficulties," the company said.

"Anglo American believes that this solution-oriented approach is likely to result in a speedier and more equitable outcome for all miners affected by silicosis than protracted and expensive litigation," it said.

Miners get too little compensation, says lawyer.

Cape Town - Levels of statutory compensation paid to mine workers who suffered from occupational diseases were insufficient and made no provision for pain and suffering, the main component of damages in personal injury claims, Richard Meeran, a consultant attorney in compensation claims against Anglo American, said yesterday.

Nine tests cases from former mine workers who have contracted silicosis, a respiratory disease, have been brought against Anglo in the Johannesburg high court. Following a judge's ruling, the papers will have to be redrafted and the claimants allowed access to sensitive Anglo documents to prepare for the court cases.

Meeran's law firm, Australia-based Slater & Gordon, and London-based law firm Leigh Day & Company are consultants to the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg in the litigation.

Meeran said the statutory compensation was based on earnings at the time of work. Given that silicosis might take up to 30 years to develop, levels of compensation were low and the system discriminated against black workers, whose earnings were lower, he added.

Studies have shown that the majority of former miners who developed silicosis did not in fact get compensated under the statutory scheme, primarily because they were not diagnosed, but also because many who were diagnosed did not apply.

"As a result, the companies paying into the scheme have got off extremely lightly at the expense of their former workers," Meeran said.

In response to comments by Anglo that it was working with trade unions and the government to find practical and sustainable solutions to overcome difficulties in obtaining benefit examinations, treatment and statutory compensation benefits, Meeran said the industry had been well aware of these obstacles for a century.

Proper solutions needed to be implemented rapidly. Workers exposed to significant quantities of silica dust, or who had silicosis, had a greatly increased risk of developing tuberculosis. If tuberculosis was diagnosed and treated effectively quickly, a worker could recover. Medical care structures needed to be developed in rural areas. This was a key underlying purpose of the present test cases, Meeran said.

The legal representatives were "unconvinced by the industry's sense of commitment and urgency over this serious problem".

"Any solution should be primarily paid for by the industry, given that work on their mines is the cause of the problem. It is not right that they should be allowed to continue to 'wash their hands' of the health of workers injured in the interests of profit."

Silicosis victims had a right to compensation, which they were entitled to enforce, and it was "arrogant, patronising and self-serving" for the industry that injured them to seek to dictate how their rights should be enforced.