Delayed Medical Assistance After Slip-and-Fall Incident at Checkers Hibiscus Mall Margate

My cousin slipped and fell inside Checkers at Hibiscus Mall, Margate, due to an unchecked spill on the floor.

Following the incident, there appeared to be uncer*****y around where she should be taken for treatment. Despite Netcare Margate being approximately one minute away, there were discussions about transporting her to a government hospital from Port Shepstone. Eventually, after intervention from my aunt, she was taken to Netcare Margate.

Unfortunately, treatment at Netcare Margate was delayed pending authorisation/confirmation from Checkers to proceed with opening a file and beginning the treatment process.

Netcare later followed up directly to obtain confirmation so they could officially open the case and start treating my cousin. A Checkers staff member had already contacted Priscilla at head office and then sent an email in the presence of my cousin and aunt. They personally witnessed the email being sent.

When Netcare followed up, Priscilla initially stated that she was unaware of the incident and that she had not received any email regarding the matter.

My aunt then insisted that she had personally been present during the communication and knew for a fact that the email had been sent. She also had a printed copy of the email that had been sent to Priscilla, with additional recipients copied into the communication.

Priscilla then reportedly said she would check again. However, after that point, calls were no longer being answered.

No direct emergency or after-hours contact number was provided to assist with resolving the matter urgently — only toll-free lines with automated responses.

Because confirmation was still not provided for Netcare to open the case and proceed with treatment, my cousin was eventually referred to Gamalakhe Hospital instead. An ambulance transported her there after initially being called by Checkers earlier that evening.

We arrived at the hospital around 11PM and only got back home around 3AM. Throughout the entire night, she was not properly treated beyond basic bandaging. Only the following morning was she finally sent for X-rays, and she is currently still waiting for results and further assessment from the doctor.

This entire situation has been extremely frustrating, exhausting, and disappointing for the family. What should have been a straightforward medical response became hours of waiting, transfers between facilities, unanswered calls, and uncer*****y while an injured person remained without proper assistance.

It raises serious concerns about how incidents involving customer injuries are handled after hours, and how quickly confirmation and escalation procedures are activated when urgent medical care is required.

If this is the level of urgency shown when a customer is injured inside the store due to an unchecked spill, it raises broader concerns about the overall approach to duty of care in critical situations.

This complaint is not about PR responses or generic requests to “please inbox us.” It is about the handling of an urgent medical situation and the lack of effective communication and escalation once the incident occurred.

I sincerely hope Checkers reviews how situations like this are handled in future, especially where immediate medical attention and after-hours authorisation processes are involved.