R19M NEGLIGENCE CLAIM AGAINST GAUTENG HEALTH

The R19 million medical negligence claim that Gauteng Health MEC has admitted liability for shows the dire need for quality improvement in our hospitals.

MEC Hope Papo has admitted full liability in court for the brain injury suffered by Ms Pontsho Mathe's son Malemo during his birth seven years ago at a state hospital.

It's not guaranteed that the court will award the full R19 million, but it's likely to be fairly close to this figure as judgements are increasingly taking into accounts the real costs of life-long for a brain-damaged person.

More cases will follow as the Gauteng Health Department faces 336 medical negligence cases amounting to R1.9 billion in total.

It's a tsunami of claims that will hurt the health budget severely.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Health Spokesman, August 28 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter