A MAN from Alberton has been waiting for a payout from the Department of Labour for 14 years.
In 2002, Johan Jacobs was working on a ship in Cape Town when an accident occurred, causing him to fall.
Jacobs didn’t immediately realise the severity of his injury, but after a few days, went to his doctor because he felt something was wrong. The doctor took some X-rays and Jacobs was informed that cartilage and bone in his spine had splintered and that they would have to operate.
Jacobs’ spine was fused together and that should have been that; but after a few days, Jacobs returned to the doctor because he said his leg was numb. He was informed that he had gangrene and that they would have to amputate his right leg.
Months later, Jacobs had an eerily similar feeling in his left leg and he rushed to the hospital, where he was given the horrifying news that his left leg would have to be amputated as it, too, had gangrene.
“It was an indescribable feeling, having two healthy legs and being able to walk, bend, run – things we take for granted – and suddenly I’m a paraplegic, having to get around on a wheelchair,” says Jacobs of his surreal experience.
“The Department (Labour) paid for the fusion, but in spite of giving the go-ahead for the payment of the rest, they seem to have changed their mind and now I have been waiting for a decade and a half, unable to work or look after myself because of it. Not only should I get paid out for the amputations, etc, but the law states that at 30 per cent disability, one should get paid a monthly pension. And the doctor says I am 66 per cent disabled.”
“I just want to be able to get what I’m owed and to have some semblance of a normal life with a reasonable quality of life,” concludes Jacobs.
RECORD is in possession of the correspondence between Jacobs and the Department of Labour and all relevant medical reports; we contacted the Department of Labour for comment, but nothing had been received from them at the time of going to print.
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Alberton Record: 060 644 5264 Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
