Medical Negligence Claims

The law of delict in South Africa allows for a victim (or a deceased’s dependants) of medical negligence to be compensated by the responsible party for any loss of earnings (or loss of support in the case of the dependants of a deceased) and future medical costs incurred as a result of such negligence. An actuary is required to calculate the loss of earnings an injured person suffers, or the loss of support a deceased’s dependants incur because of such negligence by comparing the difference between the financial situations prior to, and after, the negligent act. The actuary also calculates the lump sum that will be required to cover any future medical costs that the victim will require to be rehabilitated. The actuary applies certain legal, mortality, interest, and inflation assumptions, amongst others, to medico-legal data provided by other experts, to arrive at the monetary loss of earnings and future medical costs which are then paid as a lump sum to the victim (or dependants in the case of loss of support).

Personal Injury

The law of delict in South Africa allows for any person injured or the dependants of any person killed, by the negligent act of another, to claim from the responsible party, for the loss incurred because of such a negligent act. An actuary is required to calculate the loss of earnings an injured person suffers, or the loss of support a deceased’s dependants incur because of such negligent act, by comparing the difference between the financial situations prior to and after the negligent act. The actuary also calculates the lump sum that will be required to cover any future medical costs that the victim will require in order to be rehabilitated. The actuary applies certain legal, mortality, interest, and inflation assumptions, amongst others, which may include data provided by other experts, to arrive at the monetary loss which is then paid as a lump sum to the victim or the deceased’s dependants.

The typical types of claims are:

• Police assault claims
• Dog-bite claims
• Slip and trip claims
• Product liability claims
• Aviation accident claims
• Train accident claims

Class Action

Section 38(c) of the Constitution provides the basis for any natural or juristic person to bring a class action (as a member of such class or in the interests of a class) in respect of an infringement or threat to a right in the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2 of the Constitution). There are claims which overlap with the Bill of Rights claims based on various private law remedies - usually based in specific legislation or delict. These include competition claims, personal and workplace injury claims and consumer claims, shareholder claims, and claims for loss of profit. Claims are also possible in terms of environmental and equality legislation.

Actuaries are best placed to calculate any future loss of earnings or profit, future loss of support (in the case of dependants), and future medical costs which may arise when seeking monetary damages.