Litigation: Huge rise in medical negligence cases Cases of medical negligence are on the rise, costing provincial health departments millions in malpractice claims, according to a report in The Times. See The Times article here: timeslive.co.za/news/2014/01/17/hospital-horrors-costing-sa-plenty The Gauteng Health Department is facing negligence claims amounting to R1.28bn for the 2012/2013 financial year. The Eastern Cape faced claims of R876m last year, up from R4.5min 2006, and North West paid out R13.3m in November alone for negligence at a state hospital in Witbank. Medical negligence attorney Adele van der Walt reportedly told the newspaper she was contacted daily by people from across the country who had suffered negligence at both private and government hospitals. The most common complaint, say lawyers, is about babies born with cerebral palsy, a form of brain damage that often occurs when mothers have difficulty giving birth. As many as 68 of the 86 claims against Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto are for babies who have cerebral palsy. Lawyer Karen Vermaak said babies suffered brain damage because of poor monitoring of women in labour. Much of the negligence in both the private and public sectors was caused by nurses poor training and attitudes, according to the report. Van der Walt added that under-qualified nurses were working in intensive care units in private hospitals. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has set up a team to investigate the increasing number of cases. He has suggested a cap on payouts to help health departments avoid bankruptcy.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:00:01 +0000
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