• Court finds hospital liable for medical negligence during childbirth.
• Experts confirm prolonged oxygen deprivation caused the baby’s brain injury.
• Appeal dismissed with costs after the hospital rejected a fair settlement offer.
The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Itokolle Clinix Private Hospital was negligent during childbirth, causing a baby to suffer a severe brain injury and lifelong cerebral palsy.
The court found that nurses failed to monitor the mother’s contractions and the baby’s heartbeat, allowing oxygen deprivation to go undetected until it caused lasting harm.
The mother, known as MNT, gave birth at the Mahikeng-based hospital in January 2007 under the care of obstetrician Dr Kofi Ofori Amanfo. Her daughter, referred to as D, was delivered after a difficult labour but was not breathing and had no heartbeat at birth. Though resuscitated after 20 minutes, the baby suffered permanent brain damage that left her quadriplegic.
Expert evidence exposes critical failures
Medical experts testified that the baby’s brain injury was caused by long periods of oxygen deprivation that hospital staff failed to notice. Professor Johan Smith, a neonatologist, described the failure as catastrophic. “The administration of syntocinon at 20:45 was the last straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said, referring to a labour-inducing drug given without proper supervision.
Professor Coetzee, an obstetrician, supported this view, saying the baby’s oxygen reserves were “consistently depleted” while staff failed to take action. Their testimony showed that proper monitoring could have completely prevented the injury.
Accountability and vicarious liability confirmed
Judge P Coppin, writing for a unanimous bench, held that hospital staff were negligent and their conduct fell far below professional standards. “The hospital’s midwives were causally negligent in handling the respondent’s labour, and their negligence caused the harm suffered by D,” the court stated.
The court reaffirmed the principle of vicarious liability, making the hospital legally responsible for its employees’ actions. The judgment stressed that hospitals must provide attentive maternity care and that lapses in monitoring can lead to devastating, lifelong consequences.
Hospital’s appeal dismissed and costs awarded
The hospital’s appeal was dismissed with costs after the court found it had unreasonably rejected a settlement offer before trial. The mother had proposed to settle if the hospital accepted 85% liability, but it countered with only 50%.
“The hospital’s conduct in these circumstances was shown not to have been reasonable,” the court noted. It ordered the hospital to pay all legal costs, including attorney fees, citing the unnecessary delay in litigation.
The court stated that “had the midwives properly monitored the fetus, the brain injury could probably have been avoided”.
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