The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismisses a mother’s R28.2 million claim after her son suffers severe brain injury during birth. The court rules against holding the parties involved liable for the resulting brain damage, concluding that the evidence does not support the mother’s case for compensation.
The SCA’s reasoning, as reported, points to a pre-labour infection as the likely cause of the child’s severe brain injury. This differs from the mother’s claim, which attributes the injury to events during the birth process. The outcome means the mother’s claim is not upheld in the higher court, and the damages sought are rejected.
The reported decision focuses on medical causation rather than the severity of the outcome alone, with the court finding that the identified infection occurred before labour began. The dismissal closes that avenue of litigation based on the arguments presented to the SCA.
