Cape Town – Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has revealed that unscrupulous lawyers and advocates have attempted to defraud the State through fraudulent medico-legal claims, targeting provincial Departments of Health.
Motsoaledi said that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been investigating these claims since 2017, uncovering at least R3 billion in fraudulent activities.
“So far, in the matters completed by the SIU, the sum of [at least] R3 billion has been saved for various Departments of Health. We believe that this amount will increase as the investigations are still ongoing,” the minister said during a media briefing on Saturday.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, says any lawyer who has made a fraudulent medical claim should withdraw it. Motsoaledi briefed the media today on the ongoing investigation into multi-billion-rand medico-legal claims, where he revealed extensive fraud. #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/JReGiP2GGL
— eNCA (@eNCA) August 24, 2024
He said that the SIU’s ongoing investigation has uncovered that some legal practitioners, sometimes with the assistance of state health practitioners, have been fraudulently targeting provincial Departments of Health.
“[The] Department of Health noticed several claims which were completely out of sync and made no sense at all. There were claims that were evidently fraudulent.
“Just as an example, a claim was submitted in which the claimant demanded R70 million for a supposedly botched circumcision by a doctor in a hospital in Limpopo province. On investigation of this claim, it was found out that no such circumcision was ever performed,” Motsoaledi said.
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and SIU head Adv. Andy Mothibi brief the media on the preliminary results of the high-profile investigation into medico-legal claims. Motsoaledi says, “As an example there was a claimant demanding R70 million for a supposedly botched… pic.twitter.com/xi6u9OBAv3
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) August 24, 2024
He said that legal practitioners have exploited cases like cerebral palsy and even deceived elderly caregivers into signing legal documents under false pretenses.
“We wish to take this opportunity to make an offer to lawyers, who might have knowingly submitted claims that are fraudulent, to withdraw them within two weeks and there will be no consequences. Failure to withdraw within two weeks would mean that the offer will have lapsed and the SIU will strike,” Motsoaledi said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
