Medical negligence claims run to thousands
More than 5 500 medical negligence claims have been made against the Health Department since 2014‚ Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said yesterday. According to a TimesLIVE report, the number grows each year. In response to a parliamentary question by DA MP Anchen Dreyer‚ Motsoaledi said that 1 562 claims had been made in the 2014/15 year‚ 1 732 in 2015/16 and 1 934 in 2016/17. So far in the current financial year‚ 360 claims had been lodged.
In 2014/15‚ Motsoaledi said his department paid R391.32m in medico-legal claims.
The Eastern Cape had the biggest number of claims in that year‚ with 450‚ while Gauteng had the highest monetary value in claims with 396 claims‚ totalling R154m.
Maternity and obstetric claims‚ as well as orthopaedic and cerebral palsy claims, topped lists.
Earlier this year‚ provincial Health Departments appearing before Parliament said claims were skyrocketing mostly as a result of unscrupulous personal injury lawyers taking advantage of the system in much the same way as the Road Accident Fund had been targeted. Earlier this year‚ the South African Law Reform Commission released a discussion paper around medico-legal claims. The commission was approached in 2015 to investigate the matter. That report indicates an ‘urgent’ need for law reform as no specific legislation exists to deal with medical-specific claims.
In last week's mini-budget‚ Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba took a swipe at medical negligence claims, saying: ‘Although some of these claims are legitimate‚ others are unjustified or excessive. Estimated payouts for medical negligence claims have grown at an average rate of 45% since 2012/13 and amounted to R1.2bn in 2016/17.
The contingent liability arising from claims against the state at the end of the 2016/17 totalled an estimated R56bn.’ He added, according to a TimesLIVE report, that the Department of Health was considering establishing teams of clinical and legal experts to help defend provinces against unjustified or excessive claims.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
