Minister, SIU name Nonxuba Attorneys in fraudulent malpractice claims

The Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, alongside the Head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Advocate Andy Mothibi, on Saturday, have named Nonxuba Attorneys as a claimant involved in a string of fraudulent malpractice suits against the Health Department.

They briefed the media on the preliminary findings of a major investigation into multi-billion-rand medico-legal claims.

This probe, initiated after a surge in medical malpractice lawsuits against Health Departments nationwide, was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation R74 of 2022.

Motsaledi says the two provinces with the highest claims are Gauteng and Eastern Cape province. The Eastern Cape province has a contingent liability claim of R15.9 billion whilst Gauteng has R21.1 billion.

“In 2017,  the SIU started their work by targeting provinces with the highest share of claims, and these provinces with the highest claims were Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces. By that time the Eastern Cape contingency liability in respect of legal claims amounted to  R15.9 billion while in Gauteng the figure of contingency was R21.1 billion. Contingency liability is not the money that they claim.”

Zuko Nonxuba, whose firm lodged medical negligence claims worth nearly R1 billion against the Western and Eastern Cape Health Departments, where he represented children left brain damaged by medical negligence, has been charged for not paying the money to the affected patients.

Dr Aaron Motsoaledi reveals preliminary findings:

In the Eastern Cape, most of the medico-legal claims emanated from one Johannesburg-based law firm, Nonxuba Attorneys Incorporated. In a period of 5 years – from 2012-2017, this law firm alone submitted 44 medico-legal claims amounting to R497 million against the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Most of the claims were for children, supposedly born with cerebral palsy.