Medical records disclosed in Tiger Brands listeriosis outbreak lawsuit
Some victims of the 2017 listeriosis outbreak class action against Tiger Brands asked the court to order the release of medical records so that the case could move forward.
Image: Simphiwe Mbokazi/Independent Media
The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has ordered the release of confidential medical records to the legal team in the listeriosis class action linked to the 2017 outbreak at Tiger Brands Enterprise Foods in Polokwane, which claimed approximately 218 lives, including babies.
The class action, headed by prominent lawyer Richard Spoor against Tiger Brands, has been lingering for several years, with Tiger Brands presenting settlement offers to some of the affected claimants.
In the latest chapter of the legal proceedings involving hundreds of people who claimed they fell ill or lost loved ones due to contaminated food, 16 claimants turned to court in a bid to obtain medical records linked to the case.
The application was aimed against the National Health Laboratory Service, the Minister of Health, and Tiger Brands-related entities.
The class action was certified in 2018, but the trial has not yet got off the ground.
In the latest development, Judge Stuart Wilson was asked to release the medical information of some of the victims in terms of section 14 (2) (b) of the National Health Act.
The provision permits a court to order the disclosure of confidential medical information concerning a “user” of healthcare services to any other person, on appropriate terms and conditions.
One of the steps the applicants said is necessary before the matter goes to trial is the disclosure of material relating to an investigation conducted by the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which traced the listeriosis outbreak back to a Tiger Brands food processing centre.
They argued that the relevant material is necessary both because it will likely be evidence in the action itself, and because access to it will allow the applicants’ legal representatives to trace members of the class who have not yet been identified.
The applicants wanted the disclosure of the medical records to their legal representatives on terms and conditions meant to preserve the confidentiality of the individuals who may be identifiable from it.
The material sought is set out in a draft subpoena and is likely to contain information about individuals tested for listeriosis as part of the NHLS/NICD investigation, Judge Wilson noted.
According to him, the disclosure of the records is likely to benefit those whose privacy interests the law is meant to protect, at least insofar as it will enable them to exercise a meaningful choice about whether to opt out of the class action.
“The disclosure of the confidential information is, naturally, only justified to the extent necessary to allow the parties and their legal representatives to assess the conduct of the investigation and to trace any members of the class who have not yet been contacted by the applicants’ attorneys,” he said.
He noted that the order sought contained appropriate safeguards to ensure that the information would only be used by the parties’ legal representatives for purposes connected with the class action, and that any person receiving the information for those purposes makes an undertaking to keep that information confidential.
Tiger Brands, meanwhile, supported the application.