Doc cuts woman’s vocal cords in botched operation

SHOOT: Jeepers, imagine not being able to speak again for the rest of your life! What's worse, the Health Department stalled in paying her.

Sowetan: Meiring, who uses a tracheotomy in order to talk, said: “I cannot believe that I will be forced to use this for the rest of my life."

clipped from www.sowetan.co.za A woman who cannot speak after a botched operation has been paid over R630,000 by the Health Department. Aileen Peggy Meiring from Mpumalanga sued the province’s health department after her vocal cords were accidentally cut during an operation to remove her thyroid glands. Thyroid glands are the glands that control human metabolism. The operation was done by a doctor known only as Dr Mario at Witbank Hospital in 2007. Meiring sued the department for malpractice and demanded R2 million. The department was ordered by the Pretoria high court last November to pay her R580,000, together with interest of 15,5 percent from October 22 2008. This week, she was forced to return to court as the department had not paid the money.