Health department’s weaknesses cost state R1.6m in medical negligence case

The Gauteng health department’s failure to provide urgently needed medical care and assistive devices to a child with cerebral palsy has resulted in a court awarding R1.6m to the mother. The high court in Johannesburg in April 2024 gave the department three months to deliver the required equipment after a settlement was reached between the parties. The settlement included an enforcement clause which stated that if the department failed to meet the deadline, the applicant [mother] could approach the court for a monetary order.

However, the department did not comply with the settlement agreement. As a result, the applicant brought an application for payment of R1,629,230. READ |Family under scrutiny for disabled boy’s death “Counsel submitted that the respondent has admitted to failing to provide required medical services and devices by the court-ordered deadline of July 18 2024,” said High Court acting judge PJM Mogotsi.

“Counsel submitted that the respondent raises no legally valid defence, and the respondent’s only excuse is an internal miscommunication between departments, which is not a ground of justification.” According to the judgment, the department argued that the application was premature and based on a misinterpretation of the court order. It also said the application sought to monetise healthcare unjustly. The department asked for a second chance to comply, saying its failure was “an innocent miscommunication, not bad faith”. But Mogotsi said the settlement order was clear about the deadline and what would happen if the department did not comply.