HomeMedico-Legal
Medico-Legal
Mother sues after baby swopped at birth
An Eastern Cape mother is suing the provincial Health Department for more than R1m after her baby was swopped at birth at Isilimela Hospital...
Nurses' negligence likely caused baby's brain damage – judge
Negligent nurses at a rural Eastern Cape hospital likely caused a baby's severe brain damage, an Eastern Cape judge has ruled, saying the child...
Hospital fires 15 nurses after girl (12) kills herself
A Washington children’s hospital sacked 15 nurses after a 12-year-old patient killed herself at the facility where she was advised to have 24-hour supervision,...
HPCSA blames Dr Death for case delay
Dr Wouter Basson is responsible for the delay in professional misconduct proceedings against him, according to the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), which...
Patients sue NHS trust after over-prescription of cancer drug for years
More than 20 patients in Britain who say their quality of life was wrecked when they were unnecessarily given a highly toxic cancer drug...
Man alleges 'murder' of unborn son in unprecedented abortion case
In a legal first, a case in Texas seeks to establish “all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States” as...
UK surgeon struck off after hundreds of unnecessary ops
A British surgeon who performed unnecessary bowel operations, using artificial mesh, and leaving dozens of patients in agony, has been struck off the roll...
SA doctor struck off UK roll for putting semen in woman’s drink
A South African doctor who was practising in the United Kingdom has been struck off the medical register “with immediate effect” after putting his...
Poor record-keeping adds to Eastern Cape medico-legal cases
A major driver of successful medical negligence cases against the Eastern Cape Health Department is its poor record-keeping, making it impossible for it to...
UK boy dies after being sent home due to ‘lack of beds’
The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from a British hospital because of a “lack of beds” has told...
Legal precedent in SCA ruling to impact claims for brain injured
The recent Supreme Court of Appeal ruling relating to unconscious or severely incapacitated individuals is expected to have significant implications for medico-legal claims in...
Anaesthetists group urges caution after circumcision death
Experts have said caution should be exercised when administering the anaesthetic lignocaine, particularly in consulting rooms, and that although it is a safe, commonly...
Call for action as SA loses 6 000 doctors and nurses annually
Experts warn that urgent intervention is needed to deal with the staffing crisis in the healthcare sector, which has seen almost 6 000 doctors...
Nurses allegedly ignored patient who miscarried at KZN hospital
Hospital staff allegedly left a young patient ignored and unattended during and after her miscarriage, with the woman being forced to sit with the...
Surgeon chopped off his own legs for insurance payout
A British vascular surgeon who told insurers he’d had his legs amputated due to sepsis has been charged with fraud – after he’d claimed...
US doctor faces 40 years over actor Matthew Perry's ketamine death
One of the doctors accused of providing ketamine to American actor Matthew Perry (54), who died in October 2023, has pleaded guilty to four...
Colorado hospital ordered to pay spine patient $3.2m
A hospital in Denver, Colorado, has been ordered to pay a spine surgery patient almost R3.2m after he accused AdventHealth Porter staff of dropping...
Doctor probed after teen dies during circumcision
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is investigating a Bronkhorstspruit doctor after a teenage boy died, and another had to be admitted...
Doctor has right to turn away patient, court rules
A Pretoria doctor who appealed against the HPCSA’s finding of negligence after he had refused to admit a private patient to Netcare Unitas Hospital...
Cardiologist's ‘gagging’ order against Carte Blanche overturned
A “gagging order” preventing Carte Blanche from broadcasting a programme about a Durban cardiologist accused of malpractice has been set aside, with the judge...
Medical scheme rejects member after cancer battle
A breast cancer patient who successfully challenged the Genesis Medical Scheme before the Council for Medical Schemes now finds herself in debt and without...
Limpopo staff accused of negligence in stillbirth case
A Musina Hospital is carrying out an investigation after accusations of negligence in the case of a patient who said she was left to...
Vet clinic forks out for emotional damages after dog burnt
The Pierre van Ryneveld Veterinary Clinic in Pretoria has to pay emotional damages to the owners of a Yorkshire Terrier – Triesie – who...
Charges dropped against US doctor who destroyed Covid jabs
The United States Attorney-General has ordered charges to be dropped against a plastic surgeon accused of destroying Covid-19 vaccines worth $28 000, distributing fake...
Teetering emergency services add to medico-legal woes
South Africa's severe shortage of ambulances and urgent care beds at hospitals, resulting in emergency medical services buckling under the pressure, are putting lives...
UK doctor jailed for biker’s death after reckless overtaking
A doctor in Britain whose dangerous driving caused the death of a motorcyclist has been sentenced to three years behind bars and had his...
Millions in medico-legal claims shackle KZN Health
Negligence claims continue to burden the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, with documents from 2024 revealing 2 440 claims valued at R29.1bn, and the number...
NPA yet to pursue Life Esidimeni prosecutions
Nine years after the Life Esidimeni tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 144 mental health patients and in which more than 1 400...
Surgeon banned from private practice still works for NHS
A colorectal surgeon who has been banned from working for a private healthcare company in England – after an investigation into patient safety –...
German police investigate doctors for patient deaths
A doctor suspected of killing several patients is being investigated by German police, who have already done a number of autopsies and exhumations linked...
Pregnant doctor, medical groups sue over Kennedy’s Covid jab rules
Medical and public health organisations have sued the United States Department of Health and Human Services and its Secretary over changes to the country’s...
Jury awards $2.25m to decapitated baby’s parents after autopsy posted online
A US jury awarded $2.35m damages against a pathologist who shared – on social media – pictures of a baby decapitated during birth, reports NBC....
British military aircrew sue after cancer diagnoses
Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) is being sued by at least 180 current and former armed forces aircrew who have cancer which they claim...
Judge scathing of ‘expert’ evidence in child’s brain injury case
Medical experts who concluded – merely by looking at photographs – that a child had suffered brain injuries after a car accident, came under...
UK police arrest hospital bosses for gross negligence manslaughter
Three senior hospital managers have been arrested by British police on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of investigations into nurse Lucy Letby,...
Checkers employee’s dismissal for Covid mask violation upheld
A former Checkers employee was unsuccessful in his bid to get his job back after being fired for failing to wear a mask during...
Prison warden fired for refusal to take inmate to hospital
A former Department of Correctional Services (DCS) employee has been dismissed for insubordination after refusing to escort an ill inmate to hospital, the order...
UK Appeal Court: 'Reckless disregard' and spinal injury in rugby match
A British Court of Appeal (CoA) has upheld a ruling that a rugby player who ran full speed into an opponent was liable for...
Tembisa Hospital ‘kingpin’ nailed by SARS on tax charges
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has swooped on Tembisa Hospital “syndicate kingpin” Stefan Govindraju – linked to more than 56 shell companies that raked...
‘Toilet rolls for R300 000’ – Gauteng Health still does dodgy deals
The DA has demanded that the Gauteng Health Department stop buying from companies linked to the fishy Tembisa Hospital contracts, which resulted in the...