Tiger Brands has reason to worry after the Esidimeni arbitration award‚ as life in SA might not be so cheap anymore, according to Richard Spoor‚ a class action lawyer representing families who lost loved ones in the listeriosis saga against the food giant.

A TimesLIVE report notes Spoor was encouraged by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke's award of R1m in constitutional damages to 68 survivors and 67 families who lost loved ones in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. This huge payout to people who weren't earning money sets a precedent‚ said Spoor. He said many people who died from listeria were old or poor or very young and payouts for them would usually be low.

But Moseneke’s awarding of R1.2m – R1m of which was for constitutional damages – to families of the dead who had earned nothing as they were institutionalised psychiatric patients has changed the picture.

Rights group Section 27‚ which represented 63 families‚ noted that Moseneke had found the state had grossly violated ‘the constitutional right to human dignity‚ the founding values of the Constitution and the principles governing public administration‚ the right to family life and the right to access to quality healthcare services’. Spoor's case is a class action law suit by people who lost babies or loved ones to listeriosis.

The Esidimeni case was an arbitration hearing in which the state came to the table and admitted liability. Despite the legal differences‚ Spoor believes Moseneke's judgment matters. ‘He is a renowned jurist. Anything he says is taken by lawyers and the courts very seriously.’ Spoor said: ‘We were considering asking for constitutional damages in this case. We were thinking about it. Moseneke's ruling is hugely encouraging for us.’

Full TimesLIVE report

Life Esidimeni judgment