In a March 2025 Judgment, the High Court addressed the issue of whether the Eastern Cape Department of Health could satisfy a final court order for the payment of damages in instalments instead of a lump sum. The court found that the defendant cannot satisfy a court order in periodic payments.
The plaintiff, BN, acting on behalf of her minor child AN, sued the defendant for general and special damages due to cerebral palsy sustained by AN during birth, as a result of the negligence of the medical staff at the defendant’s hospital. On 12 September 2022, the court found the defendant liable for the plaintiff’s proven or agreed damages, amounting to R4 773 595.
The defendant proposed making two payments, the first of R3 million, as the initial instalment and the remaining balance six months thereafter. This proposal was based on the defendant’s assertion that a lump sum payment would significantly impact its ability to provide essential healthcare services.
The court examined whether it was permissible for the defendant to pay the agreed damages in instalments in terms of section 3(3)(a) and section 38(1)(f) of the State Liability Amendment Act of 2011, and whether the court could use its inherent powers under section 173 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to allow for periodic payments.
The Court highlighted that the State Liability Act and Public Finance Management Act do not provide for periodic payments in the absence of an agreement between parties and clarified that its inherent powers under section 173 do not extend to substantive rights and cannot be invoked to grant a right that is not conferred by statute.
The Court found that the defendant did not present any evidence to substantiate its financial constraints or the impact of the lump sum payment on its ability to provide healthcare services and ordered the defendant to pay the full sum of R4 773 595 within 30 days, along with interest.