Department of Jurisprudence, School of Law, Unisa, South Africa.
S Afr Med J. 2011 Nov 1;101(11):800-1.
The introduction of no-fault or strict liability by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) poses serious problems in the health care context. With a patient as a 'consumer' in terms of the CPA, health care practitioners may find themselves as 'suppliers' or 'retailers' as part of a supply chain, and potentially liable for harm and loss suffered by a patient in terms of the new no-fault liability provision. The claimant (patient) can sue anyone in the supply chain in terms of this provision, which places the health care practitioner who delivered the care in a very difficult position, as he or she is the most easily and often only identifiable person in the supply chain. Although the causal link between the harm suffered by the complainant will still need to be established on a balance of probabilities, the traditional common law obstacle requiring proof of negligence no longer applies. The article argues that this situation is unsatisfactory, as it places an increasingly onerous burden on certain health care practitioners.
2008 年《消费者保护法案》（CPA）第 68 条引入的无过错或严格责任，在医疗保健背景下引发了严重问题。根据 CPA，患者作为“消费者”，医疗保健从业者可能会发现自己是供应链中的“供应商”或“零售商”，并可能根据新的无过错责任条款对患者遭受的伤害和损失承担责任。根据该条款，索赔人（患者）可以起诉供应链中的任何人，这使提供护理的医疗保健从业者处于非常困难的境地，因为他或她是供应链中最容易识别和通常唯一可识别的人。尽管遭受申诉人伤害的因果关系仍需根据可能性的平衡来确定，但传统的普通法障碍要求证明过失不再适用。本文认为，这种情况并不令人满意，因为它给某些医疗保健从业者带来了越来越大的负担。
