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Medico-Legal
Foreigner's health issues insufficient to halt deportation from the UK
In an landmark decision, the UK Appeal Court decision has ruled that the deportation of a Nigerian man with sickle cell disease would not...
Legality of using social media influencers to promote e-cigarettes
To evade tough laws on tobacco advertising, firms like Philip Morris have turned to social media influencers to promote their smoke-free products, reports Bhekisisa. A...
J&J lose bid to dismiss opioid crisis lawsuit in Okhlahoma
An ongoing lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for its part in the opioid crisis will continue after the company's effort to have the case...
Gauteng Health stalls R5m claim over alleged baby swap
When a woman who found that the son she had raised for 16 years was not her biological child, it destroyed her marriage and...
Better data vital to reduce SA's medico-legal risk — SASA CEO
The paucity of patient outcome data in South Africa is a major hindrance to best-practice medicine, helping drive the tide of litigation against healthcare...
Discovery acts on technologist's 'illegal and unethical’ refusal to provide treatment
The death of a Northern KwaZulu-Natal woman after a "blackmailing" medical technologist refused to provide dialysis, citing suspended payments by Discovery Health, has drawn a strong...
Doctors referring patients to private hospitals a 'potential conflict of interest'
Almost 400 consultants working for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) own shares in private hospitals to which they refer patients, exposing them to...
Lawyer interdicted after R480m in medical negligence claims
The Western Cape High Court has stopped a controversial lawyer from instituting cases against Western Cape Health, pending the outcome of an investigation into...
GEMS appeals ruling placing it under Public Protector jurisdiction
GEMS (Government Employees Medical Scheme), is appealing a North Gauteng High Court ruling that granted the Public Protector jurisdiction over it, reports Business Day.
GEMS...
The final twist in a landmark 'right to die' case that divided France
France's highest appeals court said last week that the life support mechanisms that have kept a severely brain-damaged man alive for 11 years can...
Euthanasia 44 years later: A case of déjà vu
Professor Sean Davison in 2019 and Dr Alby Hartmann in 1975. In the absence of any parliamentary appetite for the reform of SA law...
GPs to be consulted on possible changes to UK law on assisted dying
GPs in the UK are to be consulted on whether there should be a change in their official stance on the law on assisted...
Euthanasia advocate gets 8-years house arrest for 3 murders
Euthanasia advocate Sean Davison has been sentenced to eight-years house arrest for murder in a plea deal in the Western Cape High Court, reports...
Coroner finds relative of NHS founder died from 'neglect'
A relative of Nye Bevan, the founder of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has died after serious mistakes by two hospital trusts meant...
Medical waste company in 'stinking' legal fight with KZN Health
A 'stinking' legal battle between two waste companies and the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department is being played out in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The Times...
Mother sues Gauteng Health over incubator death of twin
A mother, with the help of her parents, is suing Gauteng Health for damages after one of her twins died in an incubator, allegedly...
Mpumalanga Health to pay R15.7 for child blinded at birth
The MEC for Health in Mpumalanga has agreed to pay more than R15.7m in damages to the mother of a 6-year-old boy who is...
HPCSA drags its heels on toddler's death for three years
Lisa Strydom's complaint to the Health Professions Council of SA over the death of her baby following what should have been a standard operation has been mired...
Contemporaneous notes once again to the rescue
In an unusual recent case, a claim in the Pietermaritzburg High Court against a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist was not in delict but in...
Landmark nationwide settlement proposed for opioid lawsuits
Attorneys for local governments across the US have unveiled a plan that they say would move the nation closer to a settlement of lawsuits...
UK public health experts want laws on tattooing and acupuncture
Shops offering tattoos and piercings pose an infection risk, and laws on who works in them should be tightened, BBC News reports that this...
Gauteng Health relies on withdrawn circular over foreign patients
A Gauteng Health circular that called for the province’s state hospitals to charge foreign patients for services was hastily withdrawn following the national department’s...
Durban gynae denies negligence over baby's severe deformities
An Umhlanga-based gynaecologist has denied he was negligent when caring for a patient who gave birth to a baby who was severely deformed, reports...
Pharma's $225m plea deal over doctor bribery charges
A unit of Insys Therapeutics has pleaded guilty to fraud charges as part of an $225m deal with the US Justice Department resolving claims that...
Panday denied leave to appeal in Daymed doctor's case
Visham Panday has been denied leave to appeal a civil case ruling that he must put up security if he wants to pursue an...
Court says chronically ill asylum seeker eligible for treatment
A chronically ill asylum seeker who was refused treatment at Helen Joseph Hospital has managed to secure a draft order that will allow her...
The international state of criminalisation of HIV — review
A global review has found that HIV-related arrests, investigations, prosecutions and convictions have ever occurred in at least 72 countries, with recent cases occurring...
Mpumalanga Health accepts liability for chef's disabled arm
Mpumalanga Health has accepted 100% liability for the fact that a former Pretoria chef cannot use his left arm and hand properly, nor open...
Code of conduct for health inspectors gazetted
The Office of Health Standards Compliance has gazetted a code of conduct for the inspectors of public and private health care facilities falling within...
Walmart sued for medical fraud over homeopathic medicines
The largest retailer in the US has been sued for medical fraud. Forbes reports that in a lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia,...
Legal 'jumble' behind gynaecologist's 5-year jail sentence
The recent Gauteng High Court judgment upholding a 5-year jail sentence for gynaecologist Dr Danie van der Walt fails to make unambiguous SA's criminal law...
CMS contradicts itself over enforcement of rulings
Uncertainty reigns as to whether medical schemes can legally ignore rulings by the Council for Medical Schemes while an appeal is in process.
The Sunday Times...
State details its 3 murder charges against DignitySA founder
The State has detailed the three murder charges faced by the founder of right-to-die organisation DignitySA, Sean Davison, who will appear in the Western...
Durban doctor back in court over conspiracy to murder case
A case where a Durban neurosurgeon is accused of conspiring to kill his orthopaedic surgeon brother-in-law is awaiting a decision from the senior public...
Neurologist's failure to inform patient of medication side-effects
Acting in good faith does not excuse a breach of duty in not fully informing a patient of the risks of her prescribed medication,...
$17bn action against drugmakers over opioid epidemic opens
The first case in a flood of litigation against opioid drug manufacturers has opened on Oklahoma. According to a NPR report, Oklahoma attorney general...
Court of Appeal swayed by surgeon's detailed med scheme notes
North West surgeon Dr Samuel Smith's detailed motivation to a patient's medical scheme for keyhole surgery instead of riskier open surgery finally, after two years...
Anaesthetist accused of poisoning patients in order to 'save’ them
A criminal investigation has been launched against a French doctor over the poisoning of 17 people in France, reports BBC News. Frédéric Péchier, an...
French court orders resumption of life support in ‘right-to-die' controversy
A French court has ordered doctors to resume life support for a quadriplegic man whose case has become central to the right-to-die debate in...
Gilead accused of anti-competitive deals to block ARV generics
According to a consumer lawsuit, the lifesaving combination-drug “cocktails” to treat HIV infection were the focus of anti-competitive schemes by the US’s leading HIV...