Mistakes Are Not Always Negligent

In Buthelezi v Ndaba 575/2012 [2013] ZASCA 72, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) finally refused to draw an inference of negligence in a medical negligence case. In so doing, it settled the debate that has been raging in South Africa about whether the maxim res ipsa loquitur (the thing/ occurrence speaks for itself) can be applied in medical negligence cases.

The impact of the res ipsa loquitur principle is that certain events create a presumption of negligence which, without sufficient evidence presented by the defendant to exculpate him or her, will result in a finding of negligence.

This principle is often applied in collision cases, where for example, skidding or driving on the wrong side of the road would automatically be considered negligent, if there is no sufficient reason furnished by the defendant to the court to exonerate him or her.