Earlier in the year, UP News featured the Centre for Law and Medicine and its involvement in a case taken to the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA), where the Centre acted as Amicus Curiae, or ‘friend of the court’, in a case of medical negligence. The Centre advocated for Res Ipsa Loquitur, or ‘the case speaks for itself’, despite the fact that Res Ipsa Loquitur never before had application in medical law. The Centre has finally been heard after the SCA recently ruled that the onus to completely prove negligence by medical practitioners no longer rests with the patients who sue them. This is a formidable feat – changing a law that has stood firm for the past 90 years.

The Centre acted as Amicus Curiae in the case between Cecilia Goliath and the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. Goliath opened a case against the MEC after a surgical swab was discovered in her abdomen, subsequent to undergoing a medical procedure. The Centre decided to get involved with this case because of the extreme challenges Goliath faced in proving her case. Not only would this help Goliath, but the Centre also felt their involvement in this specific case had the potential to develop medical law. In such cases of an absolute nature, the law cannot stand on outdated precedent alone, the Centre argued, but has to consider the absolute facts of the case and question procedural fairness.

Eastern Cape’s leading newspaper, The Mercury, reported on the case which came to the SCA after the High Court dismissed Goliath’s claim because she was allegedly unable to prove the hospital staff negligent. The SCA found she had provided evidence which gave rise to an inference of negligence. Goliath was granted R250 000 damages and her legal costs.

While the Centre will not frequently take on cases such as this in future, it certainly upheld its objectives to ensure the content and maintenance of health care and relating laws are under continuous scrutiny and to make a real difference in the lives of those who have been affected by medical circumstances.

Director of the Centre, Prof Pieter Carstens previously noted the essential role the Centre has to ensure that the regulation of health care is under continuous scrutiny, particularly given our country’s major disparities and inequalities, where the majority of the population is dependent on Public Health Care. Carstens expressed his belief in the young Centre to become the flagship of medical law in South Africa in the next five years. With such a ruling made by the SCA, the Centre is certainly well on track. After the ruling, Carstens said he felt the Centre not only helped Cecilia Goliath, but that it is also now ‘on the map.’