South Africa has clear policies and legislation regarding the medical rights of the patient. We are one of the countries that have a well stipulated policy and many of the medical rights of the patient have been noted in the 1994 Constitution and are binding on medical professionals in the public and private healthcare industries.

Although we have one of the best private healthcare industries in the world, the public health sector is far behind that of other western countries and with the system plagued by fraud and corruption, the medical rights of patients are more often than not, simply ignored.

Adele van der Walt Attorneys specialize in medical law and have dealt with numerous cases of healthcare right contraventions, negligence, and malpractice. We have seen that in many cases the patients receive all but the care that they should have received and in some cases are treated for conditions without their consent. Whilst minor transgressions may cause only minimal damage, in some cases even minor transgressions have lead to the death of the patient. Since the medical industry is not about robots, but humans working with patients, mistakes will occur.

One of the most frequent transgressions that occur is that of treatment provided without informing the patient about possible side effects or negative results. You may very well receive treatment for a condition without the knowledge that the treatment will severely affect fertility when you still plan to have a baby. The medical professional must inform you of any consequences and side-effects of a treatment before proceeding with it. You also need to agree to undergo the treatment.

If you suspect that your medical rights as a patient have been ignored, contact us for advice. We will inform you about the options and whether you have grounds for legal action. We will handle the legal steps on your behalf.

For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA)
or e-mail us at linda@avdw.co.za