- Human rights law firm, Richard Spoor, has launched a class action suit against nine mining companies owned by Anglo American to seek compensation for miners who contracted lung diseases from coal dust.
- This follows a similar lawsuit filed against South32, BHP Billiton PLC and Seriti Power in August. Read more
Cardinal Stephen Brislin, the Archbishop of Cape Town and the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has initiated the class action. “It is incumbent on companies and employers to ensure that workers have access to protective health equipment and be given adequate training to ensure their safety. When companies fail to do so, reparation and compensation are essential,” said the Cardinal.
Speaking to CapeTalk, Richard Spoor, Founding Director – Richard Spoor Inc. Attorneys said, “This occupational lung disease… is irreversible and it’s progressive. We have clients who’ve worked on these mines for as little as ten years who contracted a disease or who are disabled or who lost their jobs… who are unable to support their families… and are damned essentially to die a slow and lingering death. In terms of compensation, the successful silicosis class action settlement will serve as a baseline, Spoor says. In 2019, the Gauteng High Court approved a R5 billion settlement between former miners and gold mining companies. That baseline quantifies the range of damages of workers having regard to their degree of disability in a range of about R50 000 to R500 000 per worker. And we expect there are several tens of thousands of workers who are eligible to receive such compensation – so taken together, this amounts to a very substantial claim.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
