Pretoria - Ten years after losing the use of his arm after a cast was applied by a provincial hospital, a young man will receive more than R7.4 million in damages.
Peter Makola, now 24, turned to the North Gauteng High Court to claim damages against the Limpopo MEC for health.
He was a 14-year-old schoolboy when he was hit by a car and taken to the Philadelphia Hospital in Limpopo with a fractured arm.
A cast was applied to his right arm, but it was too tight, cutting off the blood supply. Two of his fingers became numb and sepsis developed under the cast.
He had to undergo several operations, including a skin graft, and lost all function in his arm.
Makola blamed the hospital staff.
While he is right handed, he now has to make do with his left hand.
Because of his disability he had to repeat several grades and his academic achievements were poor as he struggled to write with his left hand. His teachers could not read his handwriting and his marks dropped.
He has three fingers left on this right arm, which are deformed and dysfunctional.
According to a medical report the injuries to his arm have had a devastating effect on his quality of life.
Makola planned to study further after completing his schooling, but his future now looks bleak.
He has been classified as mainly unemployable for the rest of his working life.
Pretoria News