Three judges described as overly-generous the R28.8m award by the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) to the mother of a child with cerebral palsy.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health had appealed against the amount, reports The Mercury.
The mother of the child – who was nine when the application started – had accused the doctors of negligence at the state hospital where she was born, and sued the department, which did not deny the accusations, nor that she was entitled to compensation.
However, it had said an amount of R13.7m was reasonable, as opposed to the R28.8m which it had earlier been ordered to pay.
Included in the damages amount was R21.2m that the judge had allocated for future medical expenses – which the department said was inflated, and instead, proposed slightly more than R9m.
Included in the R21.2m was R4.8m for a drug called Vitalstim, recommended by one of the medical experts to assist the child with swallowing.
The court was told children with cerebral palsy often battle to swallow, which can also lead to a child aspirating its own saliva, which, in turn, can lead to lung infections.
However, payment for the drug should never have been awarded, said the Appeal Court because according to the Health Professions Council of South Africa, the medication is still in an experimental phase.
The department also objected to amounts awarded for medical products and equipment, including nappies, as it said these amounts were excessive.
The court ruled that the experts had to reconsider and adjust their calculations, and it would then make a new order regarding the compensation.
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