Medical malpractice claims fall to 14 year low in Pennsylvania, a lesson for South Africa

By Jay Page and Samantha Copeman on June 4, 2015 Posted in Insurance

Unlike in Pennsylvania, our courts do not require a plaintiff to produce a certificate of merit as a prerequisite for instituting medical malpractice claims. The certificate of merit is designed to confirm that the medical procedures in a case fall outside acceptable standards. When the requirement was introduced in Pennsylvania in 2003, the number of … Continue reading

Capping of medmal claims – a look at Missouri’s proposed scheme

By Jay Page on May 25, 2015 Posted in Insurance

The system proposed in Missouri, which allows for an adjustment of the cap depending on the severity of the injury, may represent an attractive option should some form of capping be introduced in South Africa. There is already an existing body of expertise and precedent for assessing the severity of injuries which has sprung up … Continue reading

Joan Rivers’ daughter claims compensation after alleged medical malpractice: wrongful death actions

By Jay Page and Yasin Chetty on February 4, 2015 Posted in Insurance

Melissa Rivers, the daughter of the late Fashion Police star, Joan Rivers, is reportedly instituting a wrongful death claim against the medical practitioners who treated her mom prior to her death in September 2014. A wrongful death claim can be instituted in South Africa based on negligence which results in death, although this is not … Continue reading