that government bungles once resulted in a R100m claim against the state shooting up to nearly R1bn.
The draft legislation also proposes that the health department pay those who win medical negligence cases in a manner other than one lump sum, although theruled in 2021 that judges can choose what type of payment the government must make based on the arguments made in court. As part of an investigation commissioned by the then minister of justice, Michael Masutha, Van Zyl and her colleagues at the SALRC recommended in theirOne part of the payment is processed immediately, the second bit is paid through periodic payments, and the rest of the amount is paid out as “in kind” contributions, which means the claimant would receive services from a public establishment instead of getting money they could use to go to a private sector doctor.
From the national health department’s perspective, this setup would be a more practical and reliable way to make sure people receive the money and services they need, Rennie says.But there areIt believes smaller payments force people who are entitled to a payout to rely on the government to follow through with the continued deposits. It also doesn’t factor in the unexpected costs that might come up such as costly emergency treatment which large, once-off payments would be able to cover.