This emerged during a media briefing earlier today in Pretoria, where Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi revealed that his department has been fleeced of billions of rands in medico-legal claims.

Motsoaledi said cases withdrawn within two weeks would not face consequences.
“We wish to take this opportunity to make an offer to lawyers who might have knowingly submitted claims that are fraudulent, as has happened, to come and withdraw them within two weeks, and there’ll be no consequences. If you’re a lawyer out there, you have submitted a claim in the category of fraud, please come and withdraw them, nothing will happen to you. So, we are calling all lawyers please come and withdraw, and we’re promising you publicly that nothing will happen.”

According to Motsoaledi, the department paid over $390 million in medical negligence claims between 2015 and 2021.

He named Nonxuba Attorneys as one of the law firms that has been submitting fraudulent claims on behalf of patients, sometimes without their knowledge.

Motsoaledi said that the investigations by the SIU saved the department from paying even more fraudulent claims.

The Health Minister added that legal firms that have been milking the Road Accident Fund (RAF) have also been wreaking havoc in the department by lodging fraudulent medical neglect claims. He says they roped in the SIU to investigate after they noticed irregularities.

Gauteng and the Eastern Cape take the lead when it comes to fraudulent claims, with the Eastern Cape currently having claims to the tune of $1.23 billion that have been filed.

“Lawyers who have been defrauding the RAF seem to have migrated en masse to the health sector. There were claims that were evidently fraudulent. A claim was submitted in which the claimant demanded $3.93 million for a botched circumcision that was performed at a hospital. We were curious about what would be the cost for a botched circumcision. So we rushed to the hospital to get the file. And there was no circumcision performed.”

--SABC--