HomeMedico-Legal
Medico-Legal
Egyptian doctor accused of FGM released on bail
An Egyptian court has released on bail a doctor who was detained for performing a genital cutting procedure on a 12-year-old girl who bled...
EC Health to pay R11m over teen's hand amputation
The Eastern Cape government is paying R11.1m for a bionic arm for a 13-year-old Kwelera girl whose left hand was amputated in 2012 due...
Suit filed against disgraced pharma CEO over Daraprim pricing
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state of New York have filed suit against disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals...
German nurse accused of poisoning premature babies
German police and prosecutors are questioning a nurse accused of poisoning five premature babies with morphine at a hospital, reports CNN. Five premature babies...
Culture of 'avoidance and denial' facilitated unnecessary operations – inquiry
A British breast surgeon who operated needlessly on patients continued unchecked due to a culture of “avoidance and denial” in the institutions that should...
When a sick note leads to an arrest warrant
The Pietermaritzburg High Court this week issued a stayed arrest warrant for former president Jacob Zuma, after rejecting a One Military Hospital “sick note” as inadequate, because of...
State medical negligence claims and payouts almost quadruple over four years
Claims for medical negligence against the state have almost quadrupled over the past four years, rising to R104.5bn in 2018/19 from R28.6bn in 2014/15,...
Generic medicine pay-for-delay deals 'risk breaching EU law'
Pharmaceutical patent holders that enter into “pay-for-delay” agreements with generic medicine manufacturers risk breaching EU competition law on three counts, an advocate-general to the...
NHS hospital trust under investigation over baby deaths
England's care watchdog has carried out a no-notice inspection of an National Health Service (NHS) trust at the centre of concerns over the possible...
'Landmark' UK case on puberty blockers yet to reach the High Court
This week, multiple national UK media outlets reported that a case against the National Health Service (NHS) prescribing puberty blockers to trans teens had...
'Belated' circulation to Parliament of NHI district pilot evaluation report
The 2019 NHI district pilot evaluation report was circulated somewhat belatedly last week to Parliament as an addendum to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s written...
7 African countries sign agreement criminalising fake medicine
African leaders have pledged to introduce tough criminal legislation to combat the proliferation of substandard and fake medical products – a deadly business that...
Italian appeal court rules prolonged phone use can cause head tumours
An Italian court has ruled that prolonged use of mobile phones can cause head tumours, despite scientists overwhelmingly agreeing there is no evidence to...
Doctor not culpable in baby's head decapitation case
A post-mortem examination has revealed that the doctor implicated for decapitating a baby during delivery at the Windhoek Central Hospital did not act in...
HIV self-testing guidance gazetted to address miners' aversion
According to government statistics, less than less than two-thirds of nearly 330,000 mining employees “counselled for HIV” agreed to be tested, leading to an...
Landmark UK banning of e-cigarettes on Instagram
British American Tobacco (BAT) and three other e-cigarette firms have been banned by the UK advertising watchdog from promoting their vaping products on public...
UK won't join France and Australia in banning breast implants linked to cancer
At least 61 women in the UK have been diagnosed with a potentially fatal cancer linked to breast implants, but the type they received...
Petition to drop 'premature' criminal charges against Beale and Munshi
Almost 50,000 people have signed a petition for authorities to drop the criminal case against paediatric surgeon Professor Peter Beale and anaesthetist Dr Abdulhay...
Gauteng Health settles with family of woman tied to bench
Gauteng Health has reached an undisclosed settlement with Martha Marais' family after she was tied to a bench in the waiting area of Mamelodi...
Doctor who hid his link to law firm banned from practice
A doctor who diagnosed hundreds of personal injury cases for a UK law firm where his wife was a partner has been banned from...
UK report: Dozens of babies died in maternity scandal
Dozens of babies and three mothers died at hospitals in England over four decades because of major staff failings, in what experts said could...
US arrests Chinese researcher over stolen cancer samples
The arrest of a Chinese researcher smuggling stolen cancer samples signifies an escalation in FBI efforts to root out the theft of research from American laboratories.
Zaosong Zheng was preparing to...
Generic drug manufacturers win HIV-drug appeal against Gilead
The Court of Appeal in London has ruled in favour of several generic drug manufacturers, dismissing an appeal brought by pharmaceutical giant Gilead in...
Patients die during dispute between doctors and lawyers in Pakistan
Three patients died when hundreds of lawyers attacked a hospital in Lahore during a furious dispute with doctors, says a BBC News report. Video...
UK court rules that ethical veganism is a 'philosophical belief'
Ethical veganism is a "philosophical belief" and so is protected in law, BBC News reports a tribunal has ruled for the first time. The...
Gene-editing researchers jailed over illegal medical practices
Three Chinese medical researchers have been given jail sentences and fines for using CRISPR gene-editing tools to alter human embryos later implanted and resulting...
Arrest warrants for specialists a 'direct threat' to healthcare delivery
Unprecedented arrest warrants for two medical specialists accused of medical negligence continues to cause waves, writes MedicalBrief. The SA Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists...
HPCSA to appeal dropping of two charges against anti-abortion doctor
The disciplinary hearing into anti-abortion doctor Jacques de Vos by the Health Professions Council of SA has been adjourned to 2 April 2020, to...
New hospital CEO comes with charges for 'gross dishonesty'
The newly appointed CEO of the Far East Rand Hospital, Dr Zachariah Mathaba, was employed despite facing charges of gross dishonesty for allegedly being...
TAC applies to join landmark medical negligence case before ConCourt
The activist Treatment Action Campaign has applied to be heard as a friend of the court in a landmark Constitutional Court case on medical...
North West health boss gets bail in Gupta-linked fraud case
North West Health boss Dr Thabo Lekalakala has been granted R5,000 bail by the Molopo Magistrate’s Court in Mmabatho after being arrested for fraud,...
Unregistered doctor 'allowed to practise' at PMB hospital
A Cuban national, operating under an alias, allegedly practised at a Pietermartizburg hospital under the credentials of a registered practitioner, reports Sunday Tribune.
The...
Damages because twisted foot puts woman in 'daily danger'
A 20-year-old woman, whose right foot was severely damaged at birth in a state hospital, has won R2m in compensation in the Gauteng High...
UK hospital admits liability after woman operated on while conscious
A hospital in the UK has admitted liability after a woman reported being operated on while conscious, leaving her with post-traumatic stress disorder, lawyers...
Damages after trainee surgeon inserts metal plate incorrectly
A Soshanguve man is due to receive damages from Gauteng Health after a trainee surgeon incorrectly inserted a metal plate into his...
British GP faces jail for molesting 23 female patients
A UK GP is facing jail after molesting 23 female patients whom he persuaded to have unnecessary examinations, reports The Guardian. Dr Manish Shah...
New York doctor convicted of bribes and kickbacks in opioid case
A New York doctor has been convicted of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing his...
Ban on Bio-Strath ads claiming it can improve exam marks
TV and radio adverts suggesting a nutritional supplement can improve a child’s exam marks by 30% have been banned, says a Daily Dispatch report....
Beef advert pulled over health claim complaint
Karan Beef, Africa's biggest cattle company, has promised to withdraw an advert which says a healthy lifestyle should involve a daily helping of beef....
Mothers successfully sue Eastern Cape Health
Two Eastern Cape mothers have both won their cases against the Eastern Cape Health Department for negligence during the deliveries of their babies. The...