Amended Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act

(1)          If an employee meets with an accident or contracts an occupational disease which is due to the negligence-

(a)         of his employer;

(b)         of an employee charged by the employer with the management or control of the business or of any branch or department thereof;

(c)          of an employee who has the right to engage or discharge employees on behalf of the employer;

(d)         of an engineer appointed to be in general charge of machinery, or of a person appointed to assist such engineer in terms of any regulation made under the Minerals Act, 1991 (Act No. 50 of 1991); or

(e)         of a person appointed to be in charge of machinery in terms of any regulation made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993),

the employee may, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this Act, apply to the commissioner for increased compensation in addition to the compensation normally payable in terms of this Act.

(2)           For the purposes of subsection (1) an accident or occupational disease shall be deemed also to be due to the negligence of the employer if it was caused by a patent defect in the condition of the premises, place of employment, equipment, material or machinery used in the business concerned, which defect the employer or a person referred to in paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subsection (1 ) has failed to remedy or cause to be remedied.

(3)           (a)             An application for increased compensation in terms of this section shall be lodged with the commissioner in the prescribed manner within 24 months after the date of the accident or the commencement of the occupational disease , but the ' commissioner may extend that period by a further period not exceeding 12 months if he is satisfied that there are good reasons why the employee did not lodge his application within that period, and that neither the compensation fund nor the employer will unreasonably be prejudiced by the extension of such period.

(b)          The commissioner shall, as soon as possible after receipt of such an application, send a copy thereof to the employer in whose employ the employee was at the time of the accident or the employer in whose employ the employee was when he contracted the occupational disease.

(c)           The provisions of sections 6, 7, 45 and 46 shall, subject to such rules as the commissioner may prescribe for the facilitation of the consideration of applications in terms of this section, apply mutatis mutandis in respect of such an application.

(4)           (a) If the Director-General is satisfied that the accident or occupational disease was due to negligence as referred to in subsection (1), he shall award the applicant such additional compensation as he may deem equitable.

(b)          The amount of such additional compensation together with any other compensation awarded in terms of this Act shall not exceed the amount of the pecuniary loss which the applicant has in the opinion of the Director-General suffered or can reasonably be expected to suffer as a direct result of the said accident or occupational disease.

(5)           The Director-General may deal with an application in terms of subsection (1) mutatis mutandis in accordance with the procedure prescribed in section 91 as if it were an objection in terms of that section.

(6)           The presiding officer may in any proceedings in terms of this section make such an order as to costs and the payment thereof as he may deem fit.

(7)           If increased compensation has been awarded in terms of this section the Director-General may for such period as he may deem necessary apply the provisions of section 85(2) in respect of the employer of the employee concerned.