South Africa and global insurance, financial institutions, banking and general law know–how
On 17 April 2020, the Health Professions Council of South Africa provided its latest COVID-19 guidelines to registered practitioners. The guidelines were circulated to registered practitioners via e-mail – as at the date of publication of this article, the guidelines are yet to be published on the HPCSA’s website www.hpcsa.co.za
The HPCSA acknowledges that the…
The answer to this question posed by the media, probably lies in the National Health Act (the Act).
The Act provides that all information concerning a patient, including their health status, treatment or stay in a health establishment, is confidential. This information may not be disclosed unless:
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On 26 March 2020 – the eve of the 21 day nationwide lockdown in South Africa – the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) issued a guidance note regarding the practice of telemedicine.
The guidance note supplements and amends the HPCSA’s existing guidelines for the practice of telemedicine (booklet 10) as follows:
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The High Court has refused to apply the terms of a disclaimer notice to defeat the claim of a shopper who tore his bicep while trying to stop a rack from falling.
The shop owner’s defence relied on the display of a disclaimer notice alongside the entrance to the store which contained an exemption…
The High Court has held that the owner and manager of a supermarket negligently breached the duty of care it owed to a shopper who was injured trying to stop a loose rack from falling.
The customer’s claim arose out of an incident in which he sustained a ruptured bicep when he was shopping at…
The regulations relating to inquiries into alleged unprofessional conduct of healthcare practitioners registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) have been amended. Practitioners must ensure that their current and correct e-mail address is in the HPCSA’s records.
Two of the three amendments bring the regulations up to speed with modern times.…
Two tenants of a second-floor unit in an apartment building (condominium) in Florida USA died in their bedroom, after inhaling carbon monoxide gas whilst asleep. The gas was believed to have come from a car in the unit’s garage. It seeped into the air-conditioning system of the unit and entered the bedroom through the system’s…
The English Court of Appeal in a June 2018 judgment confirmed the principles relating to informed consent in medical malpractice claims.
A woman had been suffering painful, heavy periods and lower back pain, for which she sought medical advice. After being given various treatment options, she chose to undergo a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral…
When a patient’s brain injuries diminishes their awareness and full appreciation of their pain and suffering, an award for general damages is appropriate if the patient experiences intermittent periods of heightened awareness.
When determining the amount to be awarded for general damages, our courts prefer a flexible approach. The award should be determined by the…
Our law recognises that an agreement can be concluded tacitly to replace a previous agreement and a non-variation clause does not preclude the parties from doing so. This principle was recently confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
In Ocean Echo Properties v Old Mutual the parties were contracting under a lease. The landlord sued…
