The TN obo BN v Member of the Executive Council for Health, Eastern Cape judgment marked a major shift in South African medical negligence law by recognising two alternative remedies for awarding traditional lump‑sum damages where appropriate. The public healthcare remedy allows a health department to provide the injured person’s future medical services and supplies
A July 2025 High Court judgment found the defendant liable for medical negligence after the claimant’s child was born with brain damage. The court held the defendant responsible because the hospital staff failed to perform a caesarean section in a timely manner and improperly administered oxytocin during labour, resulting in the child suffering hypoxic ischaemic
In August 2025, the High Court decided that a casino complex was liable for the injuries sustained by a child who was electrocuted by an exposed live electrical wire near the ice rink located at the complex. The casino complex was found to be guilty of gross negligence.
The incident occurred during the festive season
This blog is co-authored by Yuveshen Naidoo, a Candidate Attorney.
In July 2025 the High Court held the North West MEC for Health liable for damages arising from a brain injury sustained by a minor child during birth at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital. The plaintiff, acting in her representative capacity as the mother and natural guardian
This blog is co-authored by Mishka Maharaj, a candidate attorney.
In July 2025, the High Court overturned a decision by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) that an intensivist surgeon on critical care call acted unprofessionally by declining to accept a self-funded patient into his care at a private hospital.
The patient presented
In June 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that a child in a persistent unconscious state, who is unaware of pain or loss of amenities of life, is not entitled to an award of general damages. This decision provides important clarity on how South African courts should approach claims for non-pecuniary damages in
In April 2025, the High Court dismissed a claimant’s attempt to appeal against the dismissal of her delictual claim against a retail store owner and a cleaning services provider for injuries she suffered as a result of her fall at the entrance of the store. The court decided that the appeal did not have reasonable
In May 2025, the High Court examined whether the hospital staff’s actions were negligent and if this negligence caused the brain injury of her child during childbirth. The claimant argued that the staff did not monitor the foetus properly, ignored warning signs, and delayed intervention and delivery, breaching medical guidelines. The hospital claimed that causation
In a recent April 2025 case, the court examined the liability of the defendants for injuries sustained by the plaintiff after falling into an open stormwater drain. The court concluded that the defendants’ conduct was wrongful and negligent, and that the defendant, the Johannesburg Municipality and Johannesburg Road Agency were liable for 50% of the
Is the duty of care doctrine foreign to the principles of Roman Dutch law?
Neethling and Potgieter, referred to in this recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgment, say that the doctrine “is an unnecessary and round about way of establishing what may be established directly by means of the reasonable person test for negligence, i.e.