MHSA Guidance Note on Medico-Legal Investigations of Mine Deaths published

On 10 May 2019, the Chief Inspector of Mines published, in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (the “MHSA”), a Guidance Note on Medico-Legal Investigations of Mine Deaths.

Legal status of the Guidance Note:

It is important to note that the Guidance Note has been compiled with a view to provide guidance to all relevant stakeholders regarding their roles and responsibilities with regard to medico-legal investigations of both natural and unnatural mine deaths. The Guidance Note must be read and interpreted together with the existing legal framework relating to "medico-legal investigations".

Important paragraphs in the Guidance Note:

paragraphs 9.1 to 9.3 set out the roles and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders, which includes the employer, medical practitioners, occupational medical practitioners, the Department of Mineral Resources, the South African Police Service and forensic pathology services.
paragraph 9.4 sets out the procedure that needs to be followed when there has been a death at a mine.
paragraph 10 sets out various medico-legal aspects that need to be considered when a post-mortem examination is performed.

Click here to view a copy of the notice.

For more information, please contact:

Willem le Roux
mine and occupational health and safety | executive consultant
wleroux@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 772 5267

Pieter Colyn
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
pcolyn@ENSafrica.com
+27 83 327 2474

Celeste Coles
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
ccoles@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 875 8202

Warren Hendricks
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
whendricks@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 788 0733

Tyla Foster
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
tfoster@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 708 0548

Gerhardt Ehlers
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
gehlers@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 708 0178

Juanita Broom
mine and occupational health and safety | executive
jbroom@ENSafrica.com
+27 82 560 2904