R16m award in new negligence claim — before any future medical costs

EC health wants to offer free therapy -- and contest sum for caregivers

The Mthatha high court has ordered the provincial health department to pay out R16m in damages to the mother of a child who in 2016 was born with cerebral palsy due to medical negligence during birth.

The R16m payment excludes future medical needs of the little boy — which is usually the biggest portion of any medical negligence claim.

The department wants the court to consider ordering that the child receive free medical care at state institutions.

The department’s request is in line with a seminal judgment in February in which the Bhisho high court ruled that instead of paying out R35m to meet the future medical needs of a child rendered similarly disabled due to medical neglect, the department could itself provide those health services via Cecilia Makiwane and Frere hospitals.

The Bhisho high court judgment was hailed as a possible avenue out of the budget-busting medical negligence morass the department finds itself in.

It faces a contingent liability of more than R38bn due to hundreds of similar medicolegal claims.

But the Mthatha high court judgment has shown that even if the department proves to the satisfaction of the courts that it has hospital and other medical facilities with the capacity to provide the care these disabled children need, it will not entirely resolve the department’s huge contingency liability.

The R16m award included general damages of about R2m, as well as R4.2m for loss of future income that the little boy might have earned if not rendered disabled.

It also was for caregiver and domestic services amounting to

R7.5m for the rest of his life, and R1.4m “architectural services” which will be used to make their Mthatha home disabilityfriendly.

Added to that is a 7.5% contingency of R1.3m.

Judge Sunil Rugunanan postponed the remaining aspects of the claim on quantum, including transportation costs and future medical needs, for the argument to a date still to be decided.

Provincial health spokesman

Sizwe Kupelo confirmed the department had pleaded what it terms its “public healthcare defence” in terms of the future medical needs of the child.

“The offer for the department to provide for the claimant’s medical care therefore has been pleaded but is yet to be decided [by the court].”

He said the department was also considering lodging an appeal against the lump sum of R7.5m for the payment of caregivers.