MEC liable for girl’s lost leg

Only her faith and the unfailing support of family and friends have kept a young Rethabiseng woman going through her long struggle for justice after she lost her leg because of the shoddy treatment she received at a state hospital six years ago.

Ayanda Mtsweni, 18, pictured, and her mother, Christina Mashilo, 44, have won the first round of their legal battle for compensation after Judge Annali Basson ruled in the High Court in Pretoria that the Gauteng Health MEC was 100% liable for damages they suffered.

Judge Basson found that Ayanda’s leg could have been saved if she had received the correct treatment at the Mamelodi Hospital in 2011, but she was left there for three days without any care.

Ayanda, then 12, first went for treatment when she hurt her knee playing soccer at school, but she later developed life threatening sepsis in her leg.

She was in a critical condition when she was transferred to the Steve Biko hospital, where her leg had to be amputated to save her life.

Judge Basson’s ruling, which included a punitive cost order, only came after a lengthy civil trial, despite the fact that the state’s expert conceded negligence.

The legal battle will now continue to determine the amount of damages.

Despite her ordeal, Ayanda is today a bubbly young woman who not only came to terms with the devastating loss of her leg, but also sees a future for herself.

She told The Citizen the love and support of family and friends and, most of all, their belief in God had kept them going.

“Even though I don’t have a leg any more, I can still become something in this life.

“It was difficult for me to accept my situation because of the hard times I went through but I am now doing okay. I manage very well most of the time because I can do almost everything for myself.

“I’ve gained confidence and started believing in myself again. I am now doing a one-year learnership at a training institution in Kempton Park,” she said.

Ayanda’s attorney, Adele Dieperink, said: “This ruling is a confirmation that accountability is important where medical professionals did not follow protocol.”