Arbitration hearing for Life Esidimeni tragedy will look at equitable redress
How much is the life of a destitute or jobless person worth? This is the question the arbitration process for families of psychiatric patients who died in the Life Esidimeni saga, will seek to address. Retired chief justice Dikgang Moseneke is presiding over arbitration hearings for families who lost relatives when they were moved from Life Esidimeni homes into illegal and ill-equipped nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Many of the 100 or so patients died needlessly of pneumonia‚ starvation and neglect‚ according to health ombud Malegapuru Makgoba’s report, released in February. Moseneke addressed the media, saying the government and health Department had admitted wrongdoing in the Life Esidimeni matter and agreed that the families deserved compensation. The arbitration process starts on October 9 and hearings will run for three weeks in Johannesburg. According to the law, compensation paid if a person suffers injury‚ death or disability due to negligence is usually limited to lo...
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