SA-born father fights for justice after son’s tragic death in New York
Sam Terblanche, a student at Columbia University, died shortly after being discharged for the second time from a major New York hospital.
The unexpected death of his climate activist son, Sam Terblanche, pushed South African Villiers Terblanche to dedicate his life to healthcare reform.
Villiers Terblanche, a partner at a major global law firm, took the momentous decision to leave his 30-year legal career behind after his son, Sam, died tragically in New York City in late 2023.
Shocking death of Sam Terblanche
Sam, a junior at Columbia University, died shortly after being discharged for the second time from a major New York hospital’s emergency department, which had mistakenly diagnosed his short illness as an acute viral syndrome and suggested Tylenol treatment.
The decision to change careers was directly prompted by the sudden loss, which Villiers described as “reshuffling priorities”. Born in South Africa along with his wife Louise Terblanche, Villiers had initially planned to return home after finishing his legal education in the United States to practice as a constitutional or civil rights lawyer.
However, globalisation and his subsequent career specialising in infrastructure development and financing in heavily regulated industries led him to remain in New York, loving his decades in law.
Their sons, Sam and Ben, were born in New York City and raised mostly in Abu Dhabi, where Villiers was a partner at Latham & Watkins, according to New York Times.
Terblanches’ grief
In the aftermath of Sam’s death, the grieving family had to grapple with the “obliterating complexity” of the medical system, navigating medical records, autopsies, opinions from infectious disease and emergency medicine experts, healthcare insurers, standards of care, and patient safety protocols.
Sam Terblanche was known for being a brilliant and dedicated intern for Citizens’ Climate International (CCI), filled with hope for the hard work ahead in climate advocacy, fearlessly tackling complicated issues related to human rights, economics, and the environment.
Villiers Terblanche is now enrolled in the NYU Law and NYU Wagner Master of Science in Health Law and Strategy Programme, joining the Class of 2025. He was drawn to the programme’s focus on the intersection of healthcare policy, financial incentives, technology and crucially, public welfare.
Villiers Terblanche stated that the programme had exceeded his expectations, and he feels confident about starting a second career in healthcare.