AN abusive surgeon made life a living hell for nursing staff assisting him at a private hospital in Bloemfontein, using deeply offensive language, including racial and vulgar insults, against them.
Dr Stephen Paul Grobler’s reign of terror at Netcare Universitas Hospital was exposed after Tilana Alida Louw, employed as a theatre manager at the health facility, took legal action against him for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
She also sued Netcare for failing to protect her and take action against the surgeon.
Louw told the Free State High Court that Dr Grobler, with the intent to injure her, continually verbally abused her for period spanning a decade.
She instituted legal action on 1 July 2016.
However, following Dr Grobler’s sudden death in June 2022, Louw entered into a confidential settlement agreement with the executor of his estate.
She then pursued her case against Netcare at the High Court in Bloemfontein.
In a ruling handed down this month, Judge Ilsa van Rhyn ordered the hospital to pay her R300 000 for damages, past and future medical expenses, and to settle part of her costs on a punitive scale.
Louw, who graduated with a nursing diploma from the University of the Free State in 1984, was appointed as a surgical theatre manager at the hospital in 2005.
Her responsibilities included overseeing operating theatres, managing theatre staff and monitoring patient care.
At the time she assumed the role, Louw was warned by the then hospital manager and others that Dr Grobler had an “aggressive type personality”.
And before long she experienced first-hand his temper tantrums.
In her claim, Louw said he had verbally abused her continually, hurling profanities, insults, using blasphemous language and obscenities at her in the presence of other operating theatre staff and even members of the public.
The surgeon called her a “p*es”, “wit k*ffirmeid”, “k*nt” and “f*kken b*tch” and also threatened to give her a “p*esklap” or “bliksem” her.
Louw said Netcare had failed act against Dr Grobler, even though it was common knowledge that he abused her and other theatre staff.
She claimed she and other personnel were “not allowed” to lay complaints against the surgeon because he was a “so-called money-spinner” for the hospital.
Louw alleged that Netcare had failed in its legal duty to create a work environment free from verbal abuse and intimidation and to take reasonable care of her safety and protect her from psychological harm.
As a result, she was humiliated, degraded and suffered shock, anguish, fear and anxiety.
She experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Louw wanted to be compensated for this and also wanted Netcare to publish a written apology in a local newspaper.
The hospital, however, denied that it had breached its duty and said it had taken action against Dr Grobler.
After Louw and her witness, labour law expert Professor Halton Cheadle, testified, Netcare offered to pay her for damages and to apologise.
Louw accepted the financial offer, but she was not happy with the wording of the apology and the scale of costs tendered.
Judge van Rhyn said Netcare’s offer of damages during the trial had been made after Louw had endured years of abuse at the hands of Dr Grobler and eight years of litigation.
“I also agree with argument on behalf of the plaintiff that Netcare evidently allowed its employees to be abused by Dr Grobler for its own financial interests,” she said.
“Netcare was acquainted with Dr Grobler’s disgusting behaviour even prior to her (Louw’s) appointment as the unit manager.” – Staff Reporter