Legal Articles and Guides
'Payment in kind' ruling welcomed
The KZN Department of Health has welcomed a recent Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) ruling that the Gauteng Department of Health will no longer have to fork out large cash sums for negligence at state medical facilities, says a report in The Mercury.
Judge orders twins returned to parents
The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) ordered that an unnamed place of safety and the police return twin girls to their parents after they were ‘lost’ in the social care system for four days following their parents arrest.
‘But-for’ causation test a step too far ...
There is a worrying trend of systematic medical negligence in our hospitals. In AN v MEC for Health, Eastern Cape, the SCA recently remarked that ‘far too often this court is confronted with serious and serial negligence’ in hospitals … it is clear that studied neglect of standards has become pervasive in many such hospitals. 'Those reliant upon their services are receiving substandard care’.
Wrong forum ruling in single-sex hostel case
Black workers who live in a single-sex hostel at a Western Cape wine estate have been told the Equality Court is not the correct forum to resolve their grievances.
Damages for botched op by unsupervised trainee surgeon
Johannes Manganyi is due to receive damages from the MEC for Health after a trainee surgeon incorrectly inserted a metal plate into his wrist at Dr George Mukhari Hospital.
Arrest warrants for doctors after child's death
Paediatric surgeon Dr Peter Beale and anaesthetist Dr Abdulhay Munshi, who are facing culpable homicide and negligence charges in connection with the death of a 10-year-old boy, have been served with arrest warrants.
Anti-abortion doctor case postponed again
Jacques de Vos, a doctor accused of trying to dissuade a patient from terminating her pregnancy, pleaded not guilty to the charges at his disciplinary hearing yesterday.
Minister granted extension to resolve foster grant crisis
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has granted Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu two years to come up with a comprehensive legal solution to the crisis in the foster care system, reports TimesLIVE.
Group seeks right for parents to bury a foetus
Parents who lose their unborn child before 26 weeks of gestation should have the choice to bury the remains and government has no right to place legal barriers in their way.
Directorate to probe rash of KZN claims
A multimillion-rand lawsuit against a hospital has laid bare the crisis faced by the KZN Department of Health over medical negligence claims that have gone through the roof, says a report in The Mercury.
Another KZN negligence case investigated
The KZN Health Department is investigating yet another allegation of negligence after an object thought to be part of a needle was left in a man’s jaw after an operation last year.
Still a 'serious offence' to deal in cannabis
The marketing and selling of cannabis products remains illegal, the medicines regulator and police have warned, except for specific conditions permitted under the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
Shocking account of treatment at state hospital
A shocking account of the treatment of a patient in a state hospital is revealed in a Sunday Tribune report on a R4m damages claim lodged against a Durban hospital.
Decision time on anti-abortion doctor's hearing
Jacques de Vos, who has not been able to practise as a doctor for two years because of a charge brought against him in 2017 over his anti-abortion stance, will know today whether his application to the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) to have the matter dismissed is successful.
Asylum seeker loses case for medical care
An urgent application brought by Ethiopian asylum seeker Alem Bazabe Ereselo, who wanted to force a Johannesburg hospital to give her medical care, has been dismissed.




