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Medico-Legal
Lack of clarity over DNR
Seriously ill patients in the UK are being denied a say in whether they live or die because of a lack of clear rules...
Woman sues state for R829 000
A woman is suing Gauteng Health for R829,000 after her husband died at a state hospital, allegedly because of negligence, reports City Press. Philippa...
Claim rejected for Down Syndrome son
A recent Western Cape High Court (Cape Town) judgment has crushed a Cape Town woman’s hopes of claiming millions in damages from a Claremont...
Polokwane psychiatrist faces 11 charges
The case against a Polokwane psychiatrist who allegedly r aped child patients has not yet reached the trial stage almost four years after his...
KPMG to analyse confidential Melomed information
Material seized in a legal wrangle over the alleged leaking of ‘confidential’ information belonging to hospital group Melomed is to be handed to an...
Health Department concedes liability in R9.8m damages case
Born mentally and physically handicapped, Nomfundo Skhosana has irreversible brain damage, is blind, partially deaf and will remain totally dependent on others for the...
Whistleblower wins against NHS
A whistleblowing heart doctor, who sounded the alarm about poor care and patient deaths at his own hospital, has won a major legal victory...
‘Butcher' surgeon stopped from practising
Dr Luke Gordon, the Benoni plastic surgeon accused of leaving his patients disabled, disfigures and deformed, has been ordered by a Health Professions Council...
Herceptin patents overturned
Hospira has successfully overturned two patents on Roche’s breast cancer drug Herceptin in Britain, clearing the way for a cheaper copycat version in that...
Morphine in milk conviction
The conviction by a South Carolina jury of Stephanie Greene, a 39-year old nurse, of killing her six-week-old daughter by administering a morphine overdose...
Silicosis class action
SA's first class action silicosis suit could win compensation for hundreds of thousands of miners and widows - and prepare the way for a...
Old Mutual doctor fined
A senior Old Mutual doctor has been fined R60,000 by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) for unprofessional conduct, after he circulated a...
CMS registrar to be suspended
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsaoledi has written to the registrar of the Council of Medical Schemes (CMS), Monwabisi Gantsho, warning him that he intends...
Gynaecologist fined
The Times reports that Johannesburg gynaecologist Dr Kazeem Okanlomo has been fined R15,000 for unprofessional conduct by the Health Professions Council of SA for...
Misdiagnosis victim waits
A Rustenburg mother of four who won a lawsuit against the Limpopo Health MEC for malpractice has yet to be paid, notes a Saturday...
First g enital mutilation prosecution
The first UK prosecutions over female g enital mutilation have been announced by the Crown Prosecution Service. BBC News reports that Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena...
Cases of neglect increasing at Gauteng hospitals
Gauteng hospitals have been described as ‘killer hospitals’, as the number of ‘adverse’ incidents, including neglect and sexual assault of patients, increases, reports The...
NHS safety plans to save on litigation costs
The UK government has announced a new drive to dramatically curb avoidable harm in hospital patients, in a move that aims to save 6,000...
UK midwives and obstetricians fear FGM prosecutions
Victims of female g enital mutilation (FGM) could be left bleeding after childbirth because medical staff are now afraid they may be prosecuted if...
US$190m for photo victims of hospital gynaecologist
The prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore has agreed to pay $190m in compensation to 7,000 victims of a gynaecologist who secretly photographed pelvic...
California doctors face random drug and alcohol tests
California could be come the first state in the US to require doctors to submit to random drug and alcohol tests under a measure...
US concussion lawsuits settled
The US collegiate sport authority has offered to settle 10 lawsuits by former athletes who suffered concussions with a $70m medical fund, reports BBC...
KZN Health pays parents
Two sets of parents of children born with severe disabilities, due to medical negligence by state health workers when their mothers were in labour,...
SCA opens door to late suit
The Supreme Court of Appeal has paved the way for the Cameron Malcolm (26) to take his case to the High Court after he...
Council hears patient’s overcharging claim
Durban anaesthetist Dr Rajend Maharaj, accused by patient Prath Ramtahal of overcharging him for an eye-operation in 2011, yesterday appeared before a hearing of...
Scottish courts prepare for legal wave
Scottish courts are preparing for a wave of legal cases launched by women seeking damages following problems with v aginal mesh implants, with one...
Doctor, father facing trial over botched g enital mutilation operation
A doctor in Egypt is to face trial for performing a female circumcision operation that killed a teenage girl, according to Maan News report....
Down Syndrome case could set legal precedent
A multi-million rand court case, in which a woman is suing a Cape Town hospital after its failure to diagnose her unborn baby’s severe...
Press must be barred from hearing says doctors’ lawyers
Lawyers for Press must be barred from hearing says doctors’ lawyers and Dr Kashasha Mwenda – who are appearing before a conduct committee for...
Claim about drinking during pregnancy to go before a UK court
A pioneering compensation claim on behalf of a child who was severely damaged by her mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy is to go before...
Doctors take on hospital over implants
A firm of orthopaedic surgeons is embroiled in a legal battle with Mediclinic Newcastle Hospital over plans to stop them from supplying their own...
Police investigate NHS surgeon
British police have opened an investigation into the deaths of a number of patients who were under the care of a surgeon suspended from...