Taking medicolegal mediation from principle to practice: A South African venture

Authors

  • E C Muller Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
  • C M Strydom Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
  • B Hartslief Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
  • H Truter Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
  • P R Strauss Private sector liaison, Life Beacon Bay Hospital, East London, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2026.v116i1.4379

Keywords:

medicolegal, arbitration, mediation

Abstract

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Author Biographies

  • B Hartslief, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Department of Anaesthesiology

  • H Truter, Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Department of Anaesthesiology

References

1. Parliamentary Monitoring Group Standing Committee on Appropriations. Status of the medico-legal claims and service delivery implications (with Minister and Deputy Minister). https://pmg.org.za/ committee-meeting/39467/ (accessed 21 October 2025).

2. Muller EC. Mediation as an alternative to litigation with special reference to medical negligence claims. PhD thesis. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State, 2021. https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/server/api/core/ bitstreams/3c15abe0-05dc-4c4d-84fc-6b251e78983d/content (accessed 21 October 2025).

3. Oosthuizen WT, Carstens PA. Medical malpractice: The extent, consequences and causes of the problem. J Contemp Roman Dutch Law 2025;78:269-284. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2693960 (accessed 15 January 2026).

4. Walters J. Mediation – an alternative to litigation in medical malpractice. S Afr Med J 2014;104(11):717- 718. https://doi.org/10.7196/samj.8851

5. Pepper MS, Slabbert NM. Is South Africa on the verge of a medical malpractice litigation storm? S Afr J Bioeth Law 2011;4(1):1-7. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajbl/article/view/69974 (accessed 21 October 2025).

6. South African Judiciary. Directive introducing mandatory mediation in the Gauteng Division. https:// www.judiciary.org.za/index.php/judiciary/directives/high-court-of-south-africa/gauteng-division-of- the-high-court (accessed 21 October 2025).

7. Medical Brief. Gauteng Health Dept says it’s reduced civil lawsuit claims by R11bn since 2023. Eyewitness News, 25 October 2025. https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/10/15/gauteng-health-dept-says-its- reduced-civil-lawsuit-claims-by-r11bn-since-2023 (accessed 21 October 2025).

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Published

2026-02-09

Issue

SAMJ Vol. 116 no. 1

Section

Correspondence

License

Copyright (c) 2026 E C Muller, C M Strydom, B Hartslief, H Truter, P R Strauss

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

1.
Muller EC, Strydom CM, Hartslief B, Truter H, Strauss PR. Taking medicolegal mediation from principle to practice: A South African venture. S Afr Med J [Internet]. 2026 Feb. 9 [cited 2026 Apr. 19];116(1):e4379. Available from: https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/4379