Dr Herman Edeling

Dr Herman Edeling is a highly experienced neurosurgeon, medico-legal consultant, and DiSAC-accredited mediator specialising in Medical Mediation.

He obtained his M.B.,B.Ch. from the University of the Witwatersrand (1975) and qualified as a neurosurgeon in 1992 with Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa. In 2009, he achieved the ABIME CIME (Certified Independent Medical Examiner) qualification. In 2016, he completed the UCT/MiM Commercial and Health Sector Mediation programme and qualified as a DiSAC-accredited mediator, strengthening his expertise in Medical Mediation across clinical negligence and personal injury disputes.

Dr Herman Edeling practised as a GP in private practice for 10 years and as a neurosurgeon in private surgical practice for 16 years. Since 2008, he has focused his work on consulting and medico-legal neurosurgery, combining deep clinical insight with extensive experience in medico-legal reporting and dispute resolution.

He served the South African Medico Legal Association (SAMLA) as a director from 2005 to 2020, including roles as deputy chairperson, faculty principal, clinical negligence director, and mediation director, and was awarded honorary life membership in 2020. During this period, he led the development of UCT-partnered postgraduate training courses in medico-legal practice, helped establish guidelines and protocols for Medical Mediation, and drove mediation pilot projects, including clinical negligence mediation initiatives with provincial departments of health and the SAMLA–RAF personal injury mediation pilot project.

Dr Herman Edeling has also served on the HPCSA–RAF Appeal Tribunals as both member and chairperson, and acted as chairperson of the Solutions Task Team Medical Committee for the Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV).

He has co-authored three peer-reviewed journal publications on serious injury determination, the narrative test, and the functioning of HPCSA appeal tribunals. He has written thousands of medico-legal reports and has testified as an expert witness in hundreds of matters. As a trainer, he has contributed to mediation education for SAMLA, UCT/MiM, ADR Network SA, Conflict Dynamics, and Mediation Pan African, and has mediated more than 40 medico-legal disputes.

Passionate about medical science, ethical practice, and constructive engagement, Dr Herman Edeling believes Medical Mediation creates lasting resolution by supporting mutual respect, understanding, and the parties’ informed self-determination throughout the mediation process.