JOSEPHS INCORPORATED
Legal in Sandton

Our professional experts work together as a committed team to champion the rights of all our clients. Joseph’s Incorporated Attorneys have been responsible for landmark decisions in some of the most complex and largest cases in the field of personal injury law. As a result, Joseph’s Incorporated Attorneys are renowned and respected by members of the medical and legal profession as experts in personal injury law. Joseph’s Incorporated Attorneys specialises in law related to personal injury which includes medical malpractice, public liability and disability insurance, motor vehicle accidents, confidentiality and the like, nationwide. As a result, Joseph’s Incorporated Attorneys are renowned and respected by members of the medical and legal profession as experts in personal injury law. Good health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. The circumstances in which the medical negligence occurs are taken into account. Similarly existing knowledge and methods of treatment are taken into account as is knowledge of new developments in medicine. The onus of proof rests on the plaintiff, and negligence as well as damage due to the negligence must be proven. Expert evidence is usually needed to assist the court in determining the reasonable man standard. Numerous examples exist of spinal surgery undertaken by specialists not suitably skilled resulting in devastating consequences such as paraplegia and lifelong permanent disability for the patients. The general theme relating to cases brought against public healthcare facilities seems to be a total lack of treatment e.g. mothers in need of urgent caesarean sections being left for days with cerebral palsy or death the consequence for the infant or radiological studies being booked two months hence for a patient requiring urgent treatment, resulting in loss of limbs and/or brain damage. Millions of rands are paid out by private hospitals in out of court settlements which very seldom come to the public knowledge because of confidentiality clauses. This lack of coverage of abuses which occur in the private healthcare sector has thus created a perception in the mind of the public that a higher standard of care and professionalism exists in the private healthcare sector as opposed to the public healthcare sector, which may be incorrect. A contingency fee agreement is an agreement between a legal practitioner and his/her client to the effect that the legal practitioner will charge no fees if the client’s court case is conducted unsuccessfully. Mere common sense or the magnitude of the medical complications causes patients to question the treatment administered or the lack of treatment. 1.1 An accurate history needs to be obtained from an uninformed, traumatised, depressed, sometimes head injured client and their family of circumstances leading to the complaint. 1.2 All treatment records relating to the patient’s prior medical history, treatment at the hands of the suspected transgressor and subsequent history needs to be obtained. 1.4 All biographical information relating to the patient’s family medical history, educational and employment history needs to be obtained. 1.5 Appropriate medical experts needs to be identified to opine on the information collected. 1.6 Lay witnesses need to be identified and interviewed to explain or confirm events. 1.7 All medical costs relating to the events needs to be identified and vouched for as well as arrangements made with medical aids (where applicable) who insist on being reimbursed in the event of a successful claim. 1.10 An overview needs to be made as to whether there is any prospect of success in pursuing a claim. This is paid for by the legal practitioner at his own risk.