Medico-legal claims now a scam, 'fits definition of organised crime' - SIU's Mothibi

CAPE TOWN - Head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Andy Mothibi says medico-legal claims in the public sector have become a scam.

On Wednesday, he told Parliament the extent of loss to the state could exceed R4 billion.

Mothibi revealed to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) the web of collusion between unscrupulous lawyers, touts and medical professionals to defraud the state and the claimants too.

READ: Evidence of collusion in dodgy medico-legal claims

He has recommended a total overhaul of the claims process.

The SIU has been investigating medico-legal claims across the provinces since the proclamation was issued in 2022.

It’s revealed how lawyers are defrauding not only the state but their own clients. 
Nurses meanwhile are stealing medical records to fuel the scheme.

Mothibi said some of the children in whose names claims are made still live in dire poverty and appalling conditions.

“This is a scam. In fact, it fits in the definition of organised crime and we are dealing with it as such.”

Mothibi said the state attorney’s office through which these claims are processed is also not in the clear.

“There, the process really requires improvement so that it’s monitored appropriately.”

Fifty-one referrals have been made to the Legal Practice Council and another 45 to the Legal Practice Fidelity Fund.

Mothibi said he had full confidence these bodies were taking the appropriate action to have these lawyers struck from the roll.