Share

Medical claims against the state skyrocket

The enormous escalation of medical negligence claims against state hospitals will probably see payouts of up to R1.5 billion at the end this financial year.

There has been a boom in claims against provincial health departments since 2012.

In 2010, successful negligence claims cost the state R100 million and R1.3 billion last year.

According to data from National Treasury covering the first three quarters of the financial year ending this month, payouts have escalated further.

Between March and November last year, the state settled claims worth R1.1 billion.

A simple extrapolation leads to an estimate of R1.5 billion for the full year – a fifteen-fold increase since 2010.

These are just the claims that succeeded.

In last month’s budget review, Treasury warned about the mounting contingent liability of both valid and invalid claims that have not been resolved.

Treasury argued that a large amount of the liability represents frivolous claims.

This potential liability nonetheless rocketed from R7 billion in 2012 to R56.3 billion last year.

The claims against the state are not growing in isolation, with an increasingly active community of medical malpractice lawyers also targeting private practitioners.

“Our data indicates that over the six-year period from 2011 to 2016, there was a 35% increase in the number of claims being made against healthcare professionals in South Africa,” said Graham Howarth, head of medical services Africa at the Medical Protection Society (MPS).

The real change has been with high-value claims, he added.

“MPS has seen an increase of 121% in medical and dental claims valued at over R1 million.”

* SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.92
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.47
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.3%
Platinum
911.60
+1.6%
Palladium
1,012.97
+1.1%
Gold
2,213.47
+0.9%
Silver
24.80
+0.6%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders