Netcare Hospital Group and a surgeon have both denied liability in the case of a Durban woman who claims severe burns on her back resulted from negligence during spinal surgery 10 years ago.
The former beauty pageant queen, who has instituted a civil claim for R1.6m, said she awoke from the operation with horrific burns that have left her in constant pain for a decade, reports News24.
But Nivera Maharaj (55), who is suing Netcare and the operating doctor, now has to wait even longer after her case was postponed indefinitely last week in the latest round of litigation.
Maharaj was a patient of a practising neurosurgeon at Netcare’s St Augustine’s Hospital in Durban and was operated on during December 2014 to correct a cervical spine prolapse.
During the surgery, she suffered burns to her upper back, allegedly arising out of the negligent use of diathermy equipment, used to cut and coagulate tissue during operations, or the incorrect use of heated surgical sandbags during the procedure, according to court papers.
Both the doctor and Netcare have denied liability, with the hospital group applying to postpone the matter on the basis that it was not trial-ready due to incomplete expert reports, a lack of responses to the group’s request for further information, and the need for further expert examination of Maharaj as a result of new developments in her medical condition.
However, Maharaj’s lawyer Koos Pieterse argued that, as the incident happened 10 years ago, she was “being kept from having her day in court by the conduct” of Netcare.
The judge found that the matter was not trial-ready when previously certified as such on 6 March. Expert reports had become stale and were due to be replaced.
Pieterse said the reports had become stale due to the length of the litigation, that the expert reports were only valid for two years, and that having the matter drag on meant that his client had to continuously update the reports.
Maharaj said she awoke after surgery with “excruciating” pain on her upper back and was crying with pain.
"I asked the surgeon to check my back, and he said there was a blister, but nothing to worry about.”
She said that when she asked what caused the blisters, a doctor said it was probably an allergic reaction. According to Maharaj, the nurse was then instructed to burst the blisters, apply medication, and cover them with a bandage. Maharaj was told she would be discharged on the same day.
While still at the hospital, Maharaj’s family visited her, and she asked her partner to check her back.
“He was shocked and told me it was not an allergy – it was a burn. He had worked in a hospital for 25 years and knew the difference between an allergic reaction and a burn.”
Her partner took a photo to show her the extent of the damage.
When Maharaj later met the surgeon and hospital representatives to discuss the injury, she said she was handed a letter from the surgeon confirming that it was, indeed, a burn.
She also questioned how her back could have been burned during an operation on the front of her neck.
“I was told a heated sandbag had been placed under my neck to assist with neck extension during surgery. But that didn’t make sense to me as the sandbag was under my neck, yet my upper back was burned,” she said.
“I can’t exercise much, stretch or bend. I can’t move like a normal person. The scarring is bad – these are first-, second- and third-degree burns. It’s under my skin, in my tissue and it holds the skin tight,” she said.
The matter had been scheduled to be heard in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on 27 October and was expected to run for four days. After Friday’s ruling, it has now been postponed indefinitely.
Netcare spokesperson Lynne O’Connor said: “We are, unfortunately, unable to provide information beyond what is currently available in the public domain as this matter is at present before the courts.”
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Netcare sued for R20m after death of patient who was robbed and allegedly poisoned
Netcare failed to protect employee against abusive surgeon, court finds