Court orders ‘negligent’ Unitas hospital to pay for woman’s fall

The Unitas Hospital in Centurion will have to compensate a former patient who fractured her ankle when she slipped and fell on a slippery floor in a bathroom at the hospital last year.

Judge Nomsa Khumalo granted an order in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, in terms of which the hospital was declared liable for the damages suffered by Lizla Meyer, 37, when she fell in August last year.

Meyer is claiming R670 000 damages.

Meyer, who suffers from a neurological disorder characterised by progressive weakness and impaired sensation in her legs and arms, was undergoing treatment at the hospital when she reported that the door of her en-suite toilet was squeaking and asked a nurse to get maintenance to fix it.

She alleged in court papers maintenance staff had sprayed the hinges of the toilet door with a lubricant, but failed to clean the floor, which became slippery and caused her to fall on the floor.

She suffered fractured bones and torn ligaments in her ankle, for which she required hospital and medical treatment.

She alleged the hospital had been negligent by not ensuring that the floors were safe for use.

She sued the hospital for her past and future medical costs, her pain and suffering, emotional shock and trauma, loss of amenities of life and loss of income.

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