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A woman from Trompsburg is demanding more than R28 million from the MEC for health in the Free State because her baby daughter was cerebral palsied after staff at Pelonomi Hospital allegedly delayed her birth unnecessarily and did not perform a caesarean section in time.
Maryna Marinda Ismail (26), who is instituting the claim on behalf of herself and her daughter in the Free State High Court, says in her claim that Lizel’s birth on 16 July 2018 was unnecessarily delayed over a period of three days in hospital.
According to the claim, the staff were negligent and should have realized that Lizel had to be brought to life earlier with an emergency caesarean section.
They did not properly assist the mother before the birth and the mother and baby after the caesarean section, as might be expected.
The constant pain, disability and discomfort that Lizel is now enduring, she will experience for the rest of her life, the claim reads.
She has already undergone surgery to try to relieve it and will have to undergo even further treatment, which includes surgeries to further alleviate the pain and discomfort. She will be confined to a wheelchair and will need to be cared for.
According to the claim, her mother had a normal first pregnancy with regular antenatal visits to the Mamello clinic in town.
On July 12, she was transferred from the clinic to the Albert Nzula Hospital in the town with high blood pressure and later that afternoon she was admitted to Pelonomi Hospital.
In her personal capacity, Ismail is claiming for loss of income (R30 000), future loss of income (R600 000) and general damages (R2 million).
For her daughter, she claims medical costs already incurred (R20 000), future medical costs (R17.4 million), loss of ability to earn an income (R3 million) and general damages (R5 million).
These are estimated amounts that can still be adjusted.
Pieter Peyper of Peyper Austen Attorneys is Ismail’s Attorney
