The mother of a five-year-old boy born with cerebral palsy, allegedly because of the negligence of the clinic where her son was delivered, is claiming more than R5.5 million from the Alexandra Health Centre and University Clinic and Gauteng health MEC.
Lerato Leba, an unemployed mother from Alexandra, blames her son’s condition entirely on the staff at the health centre.
She said they made her give birth naturally to Koketso in October 13, leaving her as she endured 17 hours of agonising labour, instead of giving her a Caesarean.
She appealed to the nursing staff to transfer her to the Johannesburg General Hospital, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, according to papers before the Pretoria High Court.
Her son suffered brain damage during the birth.
The health clinic is a welfare organisation that falls under the auspices of the Gauteng health MEC.
Leba went to the clinic during her pregnancy, where she was monitored.
She was admitted to the clinic on October 11, 2006 with lower abdominal pain, but was discharged that evening after a brief physical examination by a member of the nursing staff.
The nurse concluded that Leba was not in labour and so did not have to be medically treated.
Leba returned to the clinic a day later and it was clear she was in labour.
Court papers said she was in labour for more than 17 hours and there were clear signs of foetal distress.
Despite this she was left to give birth and the child was born in a severely compromised state.
It was discovered that he had suffered severe brain damage, as a result of which he had cerebral palsy.
The woman said this complication was because of the negligence of the nurses, who failed to monitor her labour properly.
They also failed to ensure that the child was delivered by Caesarean, she said.
The labour had to be managed by a qualified doctor, but this had not been the case, the papers said.
Also, the mother should have been transported to a hospital equipped to deal with such cases.
Leba said she experienced excessive pain and suffering as she was forced to give normal birth.
She also experienced severe psychological shock and trauma and this would continue as her child was now severely disabled.
Her child was suffering, as he was quadriplegic, had epilepsy and was spastic.
He would not be able to function independently or enjoy life as other people did, Leba said.
The court was told a trust would have to be set up to manage any damages paid out on behalf of the child, so it could be used for his future care and medical treatment.
He would need special aides, such as wheelchairs, and specialised care.
The MEC and the clinic denied any wrongdoing.
They stated that they were not aware of any damage suffered by the child.
A date for the hearing of the case had yet to be determined. - Pretoria News