Support from…British and American legal firms will be enlisted to help tens of thousands of former miners and their families sue South African mining companies for failing to adequately compensate them for occupational lung diseases. This comes after the landmark Constitutional Court judgment ruling in favour of former miner Thembekile Mankayi, who had been paid…R16 000 after he contracted chronic lung disease while working for AngloGold Ashanti…Mankayi died last Friday, five days before the…Court ruled that he had a right to sue the mining company for loss of earnings, pain and suffering, and medical costs arising from his mining-related illness…Richard Spoor…said the…judgment opened the door to claims from…280 000 afflicted miners…AngloGold Ashanti could not be contacted for comment…