Health Department to pay for negligence

File photo

File photo

Published Apr 21, 2015

Share

Durban - A mother hugged her 10-year-old son at court on Monday when she learned that the Department of Health had, after a long battle, accepted 100 percent liability for his medical condition as a result of negligence by staff at Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital.

Humaria Raman sued the Department of Health for R16 million after her son, Raheem, was born with cerebral palsy in 2004.

After lengthy negotiations between the legal parties on Monday, representatives for the MEC for Health in KZN admitted liability and will pay 100 percent of Raman’s proven damages.

How much Raman will be paid will be argued at the Pietermaritzburg High Court at a future date.

Raman, who has dedicated her life to caring for her son, said that life changed on the day Raheem was born, but she had faith that God would give her the strength to cope.

She said she was relieved that the department had accepted they were responsible for the complications that arose from her son’s traumatic birth, and hoped that she would be able to care for her son properly in the future once the issue of damages was resolved.

In her affidavit to the court, Raman alleged that staff at Northdale Hospital had failed to diagnose and manage foetal distress and the presence of the umbilical cord during the first stages of labour.

She said that they had also failed to check for the presence of the umbilical cord around the neck on the crowning of the baby’s head, and failed to unwind the cord immediately it became apparent.

Raman claimed the staff attending to her waited 10 minutes before going to get help.

Raheem was delivered by a trainee nurse who did not have the necessary skill or expertise to perform the complicated delivery without the proper supervision.

Raman said the nurse was not equipped to properly respond to the presence of the umbilical cord around the baby’s neck and failed to unwind or clamp the cord before proceeding with the delivery.

The employee also failed to diagnose the delivery of a fairly big baby and delayed the administration of a C-section which led to further complications.

Raman herself was forced to walk from the ward to the delivery room while in an advanced stage of labour and with the cord wrapped around the neck of her baby.

As a result, Raheem suffered extensive oxygen deprivation, and Raman was left to bleed for 45 minutes after giving birth before she was attended to.

Doctors also failed to attend to Raheem immediately after his birth, and as a result, he suffered brain damage causing him to develop cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia and mental retardation.

Raman, who lives in a one-bedroom home and cares for her son 24-hours a day, said he required constant care and regular physical, neurological, speech, hearing and occupational therapy.

Daily News

Related Topics: