Nine years on, technician is still waiting to hear if he can get compensation for brain damage

Andre Djelatovic at home. While waiting to hear the verdict on his compensation claim, his health has continued to deteriorate. He has lost a significant amount of weight and currently weighs about 50kg. Photo supplied by Djelatovic

• Gauteng resident Andre Djelatovic has waited nine years for the Compensation Fund to finalise his claim after manganese was found in his brain.
• He was exposed while working at South32 Metalloys, but the Fund only approved compensation for a lung condition, rejecting his neurological claims.
• Despite new medical evidence and tribunal hearings, his case remains unresolved, leaving him battling to pay his medical bills.

A former computer technician is still waiting for a decision on compensation from the Compensation Fund, almost nine years after manganese was found in his brain.

Andre Djelatovic, 48, from Gauteng used to work for a computer company and was frequently called out to service computers at South32 Metalloys between 2010 and 2014, when he was exposed to manganese. He says he started to struggle at work in 2015, with lethargy, chest and mobility problems.

In 2015 doctors diagnosed him with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His condition worsened, and in April 2017 he visited a radiologist at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg. The radiologist found “findings can be in keeping with manganese deposition” in his brain. In August he visited a specialist neurologist who found his neurological issues to be “likely cerebral manganism” though his case was unusual because he did not present all the symptoms.

He applied to the Compensation Fund for compensation, sending all the specialist reports. But the Fund only approved compensation for his lung condition, evaluating his permanent disability at 60% and awarding him R9,875.46 per month.

After Djelatovic lodged his bid for grant funding, the Labour Department conducted a study on various South32 Metalloys sites.

In the study some areas where Djelatovic had worked were labelled as “high risk”, including production zones, where levels between 2012 and 2014 reached 0.359 mg/m³, and operational areas that spiked as high as 0.763 mg/m³. However, these amounts do not exceed the limit of 5 mg/m³ stipulated in the Hazardous Chemical Substances Regulations, 1995 Occupational Exposure Limits under the Occupational Health & Safety Act or even the more stringent limit of 1mg/m³ stipulated in the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

“Prolonged exposure to high manganese concentrations (more than 1 mg/m³) in air may lead to a Parkinsonian syndrome known as manganism,” says the NIOSH.

Manganism can cause tremors, slowness of movement, muscle rigidity, and poor balance.

Djelatovic sent a letter to the Fund asking why he was not getting compensation for manganism, considering his neurological issues. After receiving no reply, he filed an objection in 2019, with help from a lawyer from Richard Spoor Attorneys, George Kahn.

When there was still no reaction from the fund, he sought help from the Public Protector in 2021. In a report released in March 2023, the Public Protector found that the Compensation Commissioner had unduly delayed setting up a hearing on his objection. The Fund had now set a tribunal date, the Public Protector said, promising to check with the Fund every month to monitor developments.

In 2023, four years after the initial objection was filed, the Fund did set a date for a tribunal hearing to review the objection: 24 May 2023. After the hearing, the Compensation Commissioner’s office told Djelatovic, in October 2023, that far from compensating him for manganism, it had been decided to decrease his grant for disability from COPD, from a 60% disability level to a 30% disability level. The reason for this was a doctor’s report not previously sent to the Fund that highlighted Djelatovic’s history as a smoker.

Djelatovic’s compensation for COPD has not, in fact, been reduced.

He was denied compensation for his neurological disorder on the basis that the doctor’s report submitted was “non-specific” and that the documents showed that his symptoms were not aligned with manganese poisoning. He was told that “positive confirmation and specific impairment must be submitted to enable us to make an informed decision,” and his disability level would be further reviewed “once complete neurological reports had been submitted.”

But no further neurological tests were ordered.

Finally, Djelatovic lodged another objection in November 2023. A tribunal hearing was set for June 2024, but no hearing took place, he says. Instead, he was told he would have to go and see another neurologist, chosen by the Fund. The appointment took a long time for the Fund to set up, said Djelatovic, and he ended up seeing the doctor on 28 February 2025.

More battles

In the 2025 medical report, the doctor again confirmed manganese deposits in his brain through an MRI scan. The doctor also noted that he suspected Djelatovic might be experiencing encephalopathy and that further tests were needed, specifically a lumbar puncture.

But no further appointment has been set up by the Fund, and Djelatovic has had no communication from the Fund since February. This is despite him regularly emailing the Fund to inquire how to proceed.

In response to questions sent by GroundUp to the Compensation Commission, Julian Soupen, the chief director of Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Services, said that Djelatovic’s 2023 objection was “defective and invalid”.

This is because, under the Fund guidelines, the Compensation Commissioner must make a decision before a complaint is lodged, said Soupen. At the time of the objection, no final decision had been made by the Commissioner, who had denied funding for a neurological disorder pending a review of further neurological reports, Soupen said.

With regard to the 2025 doctor’s report, Soupen said the Fund’s Medical Officer had reviewed the report and found that it was not conclusive and recommended further investigation. He did not say whether an appointment had been made for further tests.

On the question of compensation for lung disease, Soupen said the Fund was still reviewing Djelatovic’s case.

Last month, the Fund notified Kahn that another tribunal hearing would not be set as the Compensation Commissioner’s office had not made a final decision on the neurological portion of Djelatovic’s case.

In response to GroundUp’s questions, the Public Protector’s office said they would continue to monitor the matter and follow up with the Fund.

Djelatovic says he feels as if, all these years later, he is back at square one. All that has changed is that his condition has worsened. He says he is always tired, has involuntary muscle spasms, and struggles to do even the most basic of tasks due to severe cognitive impairment. “I sleep maybe two, three hours a night, because I get these muscle spasms and headaches.”

With the money from his disability grant and pension, he struggles to pay for his medical expenses, he says.

And he can no longer hold down a job. “I can’t even set up a cloud survey. It’s the basic things I can’t do. Things that you need to catch on very quickly, I can’t do that anymore.”

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