R1.7m awarded after op death

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Published Nov 19, 2014

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Durban - A Krugersdorp mother of two was on Monday awarded R1.7 million damages by the Pietermaritzburg High Court after the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health accepted liability for the death of her husband, Morne Jonker.

The order was granted by Judge Rashid Vahed.

Jonker’s wife, Amanda van der Berg, sued the department for negligence after Jonker died on the operating table at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg in October 2008.

According to court papers, Jonker was involved in an accident while travelling near Pietermaritzburg on September 20, 2008, and was taken to Northdale Hospital with multiple fractures and severe injuries.

Van der Berg claimed that the hospital failed to obtain Jonker’s consent before they performed a spinal anaesthetic on him.

She claimed the anaesthesiologist and attending surgeons and nurses failed to monitor Jonker’s vital signs after the spinal anaesthetic was administered, and failed to respond to Jonker’s drastic fall in blood pressure.

Van der Berg said that the anaesthesiologist left Jonker unattended and left the theatre, describing this as “reckless and negligent behaviour”.

She said she and her two children had suffered a loss of financial and emotional support, as well as great psychological trauma as a result of Jonker’s death.

Van der Berg initially sued for over R4 million in damages.

Daily News

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