The Health Professions Act 56 of 1974 outlines medical law in South Africa.
The medical profession is considered a noble profession because it helps with inter alia preserving life.
Doctors and hospitals are expected to provide medical treatment with all the knowledge and skill at their command, and they should not do anything to harm their patient in any manner.
Though a doctor may not be in a position to save his/her patient’s life at all times, he/she is expected to use his special knowledge and skill in the most appropriate manner, keeping in mind the interests of the patient who has entrusted his/her life to him.
If you have suffered as a result of inter alia negligence by a medical practitioner, you may have grounds to lay a claim.
Medical negligence is defined as the negligent, improper, or unskilled treatment of a patient by a health care professional.
This may include negligent care from a nurse, physician, surgeon, pharmacist, dentist or any other health care worker.
A doctor owes to his patient certain duties which are: (a) duty of care in deciding whether to undertake the case, (b) duty of care in deciding what treatment to give, and (c) duty of care in the administration of that treatment.
A breach of any of the above duties may give a cause of action for negligence and the patient may on that basis recover damages from his/her doctor.
Medical negligence encompasses a wide range of acts, such as:
- Diagnosis errors, including failure to diagnose a condition, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors
- Wrong-site surgeries
- Failure to warn a patient of known risks with a medication or treatment
- Anaesthesia errors
- Birth injuries
- Lab errors
- Radiological errors
Possible considerations for when instituting a claim for Medical Negligence:
Duty – The first step in a medical negligence claim is showing that the medical provider who treated you or the hospital or other medical facility where you were treated owed you a duty of care.
You will have to show that you had a patient relationship with the medical provider or facility.
This can be done by gathering your medical records and showing your treatment with the provider.
Dereliction – The next step in a medical negligence claim is demonstrating the provider or facility’s dereliction of duty.
You will be required to provide evidence illustrating how the provider or facility’s actions failed to provide treatment in keeping with the medical standard of care.
The provider’s actions would need to be out of line with accepted treatment practices.
Damages – Just because someone made a mistake in your medical treatment does not necessarily mean you’ve been the victim of negligence.
In medical negligence claims, you must show that you suffered harm as a result of the provider or facility’s actions.
If you were given the wrong dose of medication but there were no harmful effects, for instance, you may not have a case for negligence.
Direct cause – You would be required to show that the harm you suffered was as a direct result of the provider or facility’s negligent actions.
This is often one of the most difficult components of a medical negligence claim.
It often takes specialized knowledge to establish a causal link between a provider’s negligent actions and the harm a patient suffered afterwards – this most often necessitates the use of expert witnesses.
If you believe you are the victim to Medical Negligence, feel free contact our offices to obtain advice.
Written by Iane Venter (administration), Elliott Attorneys