Medical Negligence

What to Do If You Experience Medical Negligence in South Africa

Medical negligence leaves physical and psychological scars. Under South African law, those who have experienced medical negligence must generally claim from the negligent party or parties within three years of the incident. Before understanding how the process works, it’s important to understand what constitutes medical negligence.  

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical negligence happens when medical practitioners “fail to fulfil their professional obligations.” By doing so, they fail to take the necessary steps to prevent harm, injury, or death to their patients. There are many different examples of medical negligence, including:

• Misdiagnosing someone.
• Failing to properly monitor a patient after an operation.
• Missing the symptoms of a serious illness and failing to properly treat it.
• Failure to properly test a patient for a specific disease.
• Surgical mistakes or botched operations.
• Failure of medical practitioners to obtain necessary consent before performing medical procedures.

Generally, in order to prove medical negligence, patients must demonstrate several things, including:

• The health care provider had a duty of care towards them.
• They failed to provide this care due to medical negligence.
• The patient was injured or harmed due to this medical negligence.
• The patient suffered specific damages due to the negligence, for example, much higher medical bills, a loss of income as a result of it, or pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one experience medical negligence at the hands of a medical practitioner, there are steps that can facilitate redress. In such an instance, it is best to work with an attorney who has extensive knowledge of medical law. They will undertake the process of filing a personal injury or medical negligence claim on your behalf and do so with integrity at ethics at the fore. Each patient has the right to access compensation for medical negligence from offending parties, and a qualified legal practitioner can help you to get the justice you deserve.

Talk to Legal Experts and Understand Your Rights

Adele van der Walt Incorporated has a proven track record of successful litigation when it comes to medical negligence in South Africa. We strive to bring professionalism, expert legal advice, and confidentiality to every case. With decades of experience in medical law, we are here to help you navigate the complex terrain of medical negligence. Get in touch with us for more information, and we will gladly be of assistance.

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Call on our attorneys for legal advice, rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing – [August] 2023.

Contact us

Name:
Number:
E-mail:
Enquiry:
Code: