A case study of the constitutionality of proposed financial limitations on medical neglegence claims

Abstract

Dignity is the fundamental concept so many South Africans fought for during the previous political dispensation. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa declares that dignity is a core value and that everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected. Dignity has been described by the Constitutional Court as the most important of all human rights, and the source of all other personal rights in the Bill of Rights.1 The fact that so much emphasis is placed on human dignity requires a conception of a constitutional order in which the purpose of rights is not merely to protect individual liberty against state or private power but one in which state power is used to secure the goals of dignity and equality. Our case study researches the impact an adverse medical event has on a person?s dignity to ultimately answer the question whether the proposed limitation of the amount of damages payable due to medical negligence is constitutionally viable.