Body bungle – families sue for R25-million

In a notice of intent to institute a claim for damages addressed to the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health, Nomagugu-Simelane Zulu, from the families’ attorney, Theasen Pillay claims that his clients faced undue emotional distress, psychological trauma, inconvenience and additional costs, Capital Newspapers reports.

R15 million of the claim is for the Maharaj family whose father, Chundersen Maharaj (84), died while at hospital.

The family cremated the Mateke corpse instead of their dad’s body.

“The claims refer to the hospital failing to take reasonable precautionary measures to prevent Chundersen, who was admitted at Greys Hospital without Covid-19, from subsequently contracting the virus. Performing the funeral and cremation services on a stranger.

Chundersen was of the Hindu faith which prescribes specific rituals and cremation of the body. Ashes of the departed are then dispersed into water. Our clients became suspicious after receiving the call and tried to contact the department to confirm whether there had been a mix up. Our client and his family were overwhelmed with shock and despair, as they had performed a funeral, cremation and dispersed the ashes of an unknown deceased.”

For his client Keketso Josefa Mateke there are damages to the value of R10 million.

“Mateke was a patient at Greys Hospital, having been admitted on or about June 24, for injuries sustained from a fall. He succumbed to his injuries on July 5. Mateke was a foreign national from Lesotho and arrangements had to be made to transport his body back to Lesotho, so that the family could conduct the burials and other traditional funeral rights.

The family attended Greys Hospital to uplift Mateke’s body, they were advised that they could not view the body, which they were to collect due to Covid-19 protocols. Our clients were made to wait for an additional few hours. After waiting for a considerable period, our clients were finally advised that the Mateke’s body had been erroneously handed to another family (the Maharaj family) who had already cremated the body and dispersed the ashes into the sea. No explanation for the blunder was afforded to our clients,” says Pillay.

KZN Health Spokesperson, Ntokozo Maphisa said that he cannot comment on the matter that is now in court.

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).