Module 4: Lecture: Workers Compensation Legislation (Continued). |
Benefit Medical Examinations can be done at the MBOD or any designated Provincial Public Hospital. General Practitioners in areas with inaccessible services also do Medical Benefit Examinations but this is considered to be a temporary arrangement. Following the latest amendment in 2002, former miners are entitled to a free examination every 24 months.
Procedure for medical practitioner to follow in the case of submitting a claim for an occupational disease (see Table 3).
1 The following forms must be submitted to the MBOD when submitting a claim (See handout "a" for the different forms):
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2. When the MBOD certifies that an occupational lung disease was diagnosed, the Compensation Commissioner will send the following form for completion:
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3. For a worker with TB who has suffered loss of earnings, the Compensation Commissioner will send the following form for completion as soon as the employer notifies the Compensation Commissioner that the worker has resumed employment:
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The process of submitting a compensation claim confers the following benefits to workers should the claim be accepted: (see Table 4).
Certification | Percentage of disability | Compensation a, b | Frequency of benefit examinations |
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Nocompensable disease (NCD) | < 10% | None | Every 2 years or when significant deterioration is found by medical attendant. Examinations are for life until death or second degree. |
First degree | 10% - < 40% | Minimum compensation of R12 922 and maximum R36 156. It is salary based and the maximum salary allowed in the calculations is R2 300 per month. | As above |
Second degree | 40% - 100% | Maximum R80 509.20, if not previously compensated. For upgrading from first degree ("reclassification"), R44 353.20 maximum. | No further benefit examinations. |
a. Amounts at time of going to press. These and the maximum allowable salary for calculation purposes are increased from time to time. b The formula for calculating the amount payable is listed in Table 5 Source: SIMRAC handbook of Occupational Health Practice in the Mining Industry. Chapter 14, Table 14.1 6 |
ODMWA Formula: (A x 12) x B: (subject to minimum and maximum amounts as per Table 4). A is the worker’s monthly earnings up to an amount of R2,300. If the worker is no longer in the service of the mine, an estimate is made of what he would have been earning had he been in mine service at the time of certification. B = 1.31 for first degree certification |
Compensation for a worker certified first or second degree, is based on the salary in accordance with a formula predetermined by ODMWA. The minimum and maximum payments have been increased to R8,050 and R80,510 respectively from November 1, 1998. For a worker suffering from TB, compensation is in the form of 75% reimbursement for loss of earnings incurred while on treatment.
Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) - Modules 3 – 5: Occupational Medicine & Toxicology by Prof Rodney Ehrlich & Prof Mohamed Jeebhay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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