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Medico-Legal
Dickason's mother testifies in New Zealand murder trial
Taking the stand in the Christchurch, New Zealand High Court this week, Lauren Dickason’s mother said her daughter had loved her three children “very...
UK's NHS forks out billions to settle negligence claims
It seems South Africa is not alone in struggling with rising medical negligence claims. The British NHS spent £2.7bn settling medical negligence claims for poor...
J&J to pay $18.8m to dying man in talc suit
After a six-week trial, a jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $18.8m to a California man who said he developed cancer from...
Australian brain surgeon found guilty after two patients’ deaths
Controversial Australian neurosurgeon Charlie Teo, whose futile surgeries left two patients in a vegetative state before they died, has been found guilty of unsatisfactory...
Thrice-suspended obs/gyn loses licence after patient's death
A US obstetrician/gynaecologist, who had already been reprimanded by the state medical board three times since 2004, and even lost her licence once before,...
US doctor who reused single-use surgical devices jailed
An ENT doctor in the US has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to repay $4.7m to Medicare after being found...
Livestreaming plastic surgeon loses licence after TikTok videos
A plastic surgeon in Ohio, USA, who livestreamed her procedures on TikTok, has had her medical licence permanently revoked and made to pay a...
UK watchdog probes gender clinic linked to scandal-hit Tavistock
Barely a month after its opening, a private gender clinic in Britain, run by former staff from the scandal hit NHS Tavistock Centre, is being...
State pays R4bn in medico-legal claims in three years
With medico-legal claims devouring R4bn of Health Department funds in just three years, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has said several recommendations were being...
Midwives’ neglect led to baby’s breastfeeding death: UK inquest
A British hospital has admitted negligence after a coroner ruled that a baby died from neglect because staff failed to follow safe breastfeeding guidelines,...
Two years sliced off Theranos fraudster’s prison term
The 11-year sentence for Theranos founder and convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes has been shortened by two years, according to a website update of the...
Murder-accused SA doctor to plead insanity and infanticide
The trial of South African doctor Lauren Dickason, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her three children in New Zealand two...
Dismissed nurse fights back in alleged sexual harassment case
A Johannesburg nurse who was dismissed after lodging sexual harassment complaints against a senior manager is headed for the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and...
Gilead, Teva cleared in generic HIV medicines lawsuit
A federal court jury has cleared Gilead Sciences and Teva Pharmaceuticals of allegations that the companies struck an illegal deal that inflated prices for...
Gambian families sue Indian company for cough syrup deaths
Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals is being sued by the families of 20 Gambian children whose deaths were linked to toxic cough syrups made...
Court blow for Discovery Health in RAF feud
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has dismissed Discovery Health’s bid to compel the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to immediately process medical scheme members’ claims...
Low-income context should be key consideration in CP litigation – SA review
Over the past half century, one medical malpractice claim – birth-related cerebral palsy (CP) – has had a major impact on obstetric care, resulting...
Woman to sue hospital after premature baby’s death
A woman whose baby died after she went into premature labour at Sebokeng Hospital is instigating legal action against Gauteng Health, saying nurses had...
Court gives policeman go-ahead to claim for missing finger
A former SAPS officer whose finger was amputated after he was bitten by a suspect while on duty has been given the green light...
Northern Cape sitting with R2.1bn medico-legal claims
Despite boasting the lowest population in South Africa (just 1m people), the Northern Cape is facing medical negligence claims of R2.1bn – made up...
Health official loses court bid to avoid medico-legal inquiry
A Health Department official’s attempt to prevent a disciplinary inquiry into allegations that he helped a law firm in its claims against the department...
Doctors to pay $29m after misdiagnosis and death
Two Boston doctors associated with Salem Hospital, a clinical affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, have to fork out nearly $29m to...
Bayer wins patent rights case against Clicks for blood-thinning medicine
More than a year after reserving judgment in an urgent application, Judge Colleen Collis has finally handed down her ruling, confirming pharmaceutical giant Bayer’s patent rights,...
Mental healthcare law challenge dismissed by ConCourt
The Constitutional Court has dismissed a challenge – by a civil rights group – to legislation governing the protection of mental healthcare patients, finding...
Woman in court over R3m nursing college fraud
A Limpopo woman who was on the run for six years and who is accused of defrauding students of more than R3m while running...
UK mother jailed for aborting at 32 weeks
A British mother of three has been given a 28-month sentence – 14 to be served behind bars, the rest on probation – after...
US doctors buy their way out of trouble
American medical practitioners and providers have coughed up $26.8bn over the past decade to settle federal allegations, including fraud, bribery and patient harm, a...
Pardoned mother as rare genetic mutation linked to children’s death
An Australian woman convicted of killing her four infant children says a decision to pardon her after 20 years is “a victory for science”...
HPCSA probes Mahikeng doctor for ice-wrap advice for newborn baby
With the furore over the babies-in-boxes saga at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital having barely died down, the facility is in trouble again after advice allegedly...
Nursing Council loses SCA appeal over college programme dispute
The South African Nursing Council (SANC) has lost an appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in a dispute over the start date...
Gambia hires US legal team over Indian cough syrup deaths
An American law firm has been hired by Gambian authorities after a government investigation found contaminated medicines from India were linked to the deaths...
Pregnancy test link to birth defects inconclusive, UK judge rules
London’s High Court has struck out a bid by scores of British families to sue pharmaceutical company Schering (now owned by Bayer) – former...
Court date for SA mother after daughters’ murders in New Zealand
Former Pretoria doctor Lauren Dickason, charged with murdering her three daughters soon after the family’s arrival in New Zealand last year where they planned...
Jailed Australia mother pardoned for deaths of her children
A woman jailed for 20 years for the deaths of her four children has been pardoned in New South Wales after a judicial review...
Court orders Gauteng Health to provide abortion for teen
The Gauteng Department of Health has been ordered by the courts to take action after a pregnant teenager was denied access to termination of...
Judge orders RAF to produce documents in medical tariffs challenge
In the latest development regarding the challenge to the medical tariffs promulgated last year for road accident victims claiming compensation from the Road Accident...
Still no judgment in urgent access to medicine case, a year later
A judgment in an urgent matter about the sale of generic blood-thinning tablets in South Africa has not been delivered, more than a year...
Culpable homicide charge after toddler’s death during load shedding
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane had laid a charge of culpable homicide against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Minister of Electricity...
Fraud charges for KZN Health ex-HoD over mobile clinics
Dr Sibongile Zungu, former head of the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department, appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday charged with fraud and...
US Appeals Court ruling paves way for billions in opioid settlements
Drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma’s owners, the Sackler family, will relinquish control of the company and fork out up to $6bn in settlement money to...