John Ferreira is claiming R7-million from asbestos manufacturer Everite, the company he believes is responsible for his mesothelioma, a rare cancer that is killing him.

“Mesothelioma can only be caused by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibres,” says Jaine Roberts, of the Industrial Health Unit at Nelson Mandela School of Medicine. “It is a fatal tumour of the pleura (lining of the lungs) and the peritoneum (lining of abdominal cavity), and other parts of the body.”

Experts agree that it can take between 20 and 40 years from exposure for the cancer to manifest itself.

Ferreira, 52, has never worked with asbestos in his life. The only time he was ever exposed to it was as a nine-year-old boy, when he and his family lived less than two kilometres from Everite’s factory at Klipriver near Vereeniging.

At the time, Ferreira’s older brother, Henry, worked as a supervisor in the finishing yard of the factory and returned home daily with asbestos dust on his clothes.

Ironically, Ferreira remembers that year in Klipriver as one of the happiest times of his childhood, when he “swam in the river and learnt to play tennis”.  

A successful business manager, Ferreira’s world changed dramatically in August 2000 after he experienced trouble with his breathing.  

His doctor discovered that his right lung had collapsed as a result of fluid build-up. A few days later, after an operation to drain the fluid, several biopsies were done and doctors subsequently diagnosed mesothelioma.

“It has been devastating for my family,” says Ferreira, who has two children aged 14 and 16. “I have always been fit and healthy and able to do things for them. But this literally changed overnight.”

He was forced to quit his job at the end of 2000, and his wife – who had never needed to work during their marriage – had to go out find employment.  

Her earnings were insubstantial and the family is now living off proceeds from the sale of their family home.

While Ferreira underplays the effect of the cancer on himself, he is on both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  

“The radiation therapy has laid me low like you can’t believe. I feel utterly exhausted,” says Ferreira, in the only single indication of the toll the disease is taking on his body.

He quickly emphasizes, however, that he is “not out looking for sympathy. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and no amount of money will take the cancer away. I am just asking for enough to support my family and complete my children’s education.”

Ferreira’s wife, Shelli, has joined him in the claim against Everite, making it not only a claim for compensation for her husband but also one for support for loss of earnings on his death.

Before instituting his claim, Ferreira met a representative from Everite to see whether the matter could be settled out of court but no offer of assistance in any form was made.

“I was told they would see me in court,” says Ferreira.

Everite spokesperson Brian Gibson says that “mesothelioma is a dreadful disease arising mainly from excessive exposure to asbestos” and that “the director and staff of Everite express their sympathy to Mr Ferreira and his family”.

“Everite understands that Mr Ferreira now intends to institute legal proceedings against the company,” says Gibson. “The directors accept that the claim warrants independent evaluation by the courts. Everite is confident, however, that these proceedings will be successfully defended.”

Ferreira believes that the company may want to drag the case out in court in the hope that he dies during the proceedings.  

However, he has already lived far longer than the average nine-month expectancy of a person diagnosed with mesothelioma, and is determined to see the case through.

Ferreira’s lawyer, Richard Spoor, points out that the only other claim brought against Everite for negligence from a person with mesothelioma collapsed after the claimant died before the case ended.  

“We will appeal to the court to expedite the hearing of the matter, with a view to finalising it before John dies,” says Spoor.

See also: “The dangers of blue asbestos”