A nurse who waited eight years before launching a R10m damages claim against the minister of health, after being assaulted by a member of the public while on duty at a clinic, has failed to have his claim heard by the court. The Mpumalanga high court, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, dismissed the case based on an exception raised by the minister and the Mpumalanga health MEC, that Madala John Mafuyeka’s claim had prescribed. This means he filed his application more than three years after becoming aware that a debt was due to him.
The court ruled that the claim had legally prescribed and could not be entertained. On June 1 2014, Mafuyeka was attacked by a member of the public who had brought his relative to the Thulamahashe Community Health Centre in Bushbuckridge for medical assistance. The relative was already struggling to breathe upon arrival, apparently due to underlying medical conditions.
Mafuyeka was unable to resuscitate her and she died. The man who brought her then assaulted Mafuyeka, accusing him of causing her death, before security officers intervened and stopped the attack. Mafuyeka’s claims, totalling R10m, stemmed from allegations of negligence by the department of health in failing to ensure that his workplace was safe, as well as claims for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and future medical expenses.
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In defending the claim, the minister raised three special pleas, including prescription, which the court considered during a hearing in November. The first special plea was that Mafuyeka’s claim was barred by the provisions of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida). Another was that Mafuyeka did not comply with the Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act, in that he failed to give the minister notice of his intent to institute legal proceedings within six months of the debt becoming due.
On the Coida plea, the minister argued that Mafuyeka’s recourse lay under Coida and not against the ministry or provincial health department, as the incident occurred during the course of his employment. Mpumalanga deputy judge president Takalani Ratshibvumo noted that section 25 of Coida limited benefits to accidents resulting in an employee’s disablement or death. If prescriptions were to start running only after consultations with experts, prescription law would be rendered pointless and redundant “According to the definition of ‘accident’ under Coida, only accidents arising ‘out of and in the course of an employee’s employment’ and resulting in personal injury, illness or death qualify for benefits under its provisions.”
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