Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has been ordered to pay R850,000 in damages to a 64-year-old woman after the court found that the hospital was negligent during a knee replacement surgery.
Florence Lolo Radebe underwent the procedure to replace her left knee with a prosthetic joint in July 2013.
Following the surgery, Radebe was unable to bend her knee, leaving her leg stuck in a fully extended position for over a decade.
She approached the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg seeking R1 million in compensation.
In court, the MEC through her State attorney, admitted that the hospital was negligent during the operation. However, it was argued that Radebe was not entitled to the amount she was claiming.
The State attorney said Radebe already had arthritis in both of her knees at the time of the operation and because of this, she was forced to resign from her job as meat packer at Spar supermarket because she was ‘incapable of continuing with work’.
The State said the appropriate reward should be R300,000 as she was unemployed during the operation and her condition would have debilitated whether or not she had the knee-replacement surgery.
Judge Stuart David James Wilson, who was presiding over the case, disputed the State’s argument, stating that Radebe would not have been able to work again due to the pain in her knee.
Wilson said the doctor’s note said her knee made it ‘difficult to work’, it never said she can’t work again.
“The doctor who wrote the note was not called to give evidence, so it is impossible to know what his assessment of Radebe’s condition really was,” said the judge.
He further added that the judge’s note was not evidence that Radebe was immobile or unable to work.
Regarding damages due to Radebe, Judge Wilson said what was clear is that the surgery changed her life and there was no evidence on the likelihood of a rehabilitative surgery being successful.
“She has been left with a painful and swollen knee-joint and she was now immobile without the assistance of a crutch.
“Even with a crutch, she finds it difficult to get around. This is partly because her left leg is stuck in a fully extended position as a result of the negligent surgery. It is shorter than her right leg, probably also as a result of the negligent surgery.
“There is also a psychological aspect to her injury…Radebe’s lack of mobility has left her bereft. The feelings of sadness and loneliness arise from a substantial reduction in her physical capacity have affected her relationships with her family,” he said.
-IOL News
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