The high court in Johannesburg has awarded R7m in damages to a woman who suffered severe head injuries during pregnancy and became permanently blind after she fell into an open manhole.
The victim, referred to as TN, took the City of Joburg to court after sustaining the injuries on August 24 2019, which is her birthday.
She was 16 and in grade 10 at the time of the incident.
Ruling in favour of the woman, acting judge AM van der Merwe said: “The total amount of damages payable to [TN] is accordingly R7,828,829.50 calculated as R1m for general damages, R3.7m for future loss of income and income capacity and R3.1m for future medical expenses and care."
The city was also ordered to pay legal costs.
TN was with her mother and brother and they were on their way to celebrate her birthday at her aunt’s place when the incident happened.
“She landed on her side at the bottom of the manhole and she shifted herself up. It was dark at the time and the streetlights were not working," Van der Merwe said.
She testified that though she grew up in the area she was not too familiar with the streets and was in particular not aware of the open manhole.
“When she realised she had fallen into the manhole she shouted and her brother came to her assistance by using his cellular phone’s torchlight and climbing down the manhole to lift her up and out of the manhole. He was assisted by a passerby to pull [TN] out of the manhole.
“She now suffers from bilateral blindness, constant headaches, seizures and injury-related sequelae,” read Van der Merwe's judgment.
She was rushed to the Rahima Moosa Hospital for Mothers and Children and was given medication and stabilised. She was discharged a day later.
However, TN started experiencing debilitating headaches “and was re-admitted to the hospital some three weeks later and only then diagnosed through scans and X-rays”.
In court, TN pointed towards the bottom of the back of her head which she described as an open and bleeding wound as well as that she sustained wounds to her arm and leg.
“During cross-examination she said that she must have hit her head against a sharp point in the drain. Before her brother and mother took her to Rahima Moosa Hospital… after the fall, they first went home to change. When she arrived at Rahima Moosa … the nursing staff monitored the baby and she was kept there overnight and released the next morning.
“Although she was not attending school physically at the time because she was well advanced in her pregnancy, she continued to do her school homework and handed in her assignments. She enjoyed school and dreamed of studying and becoming an accountant. She participated in running for her school and was very healthy. Since the incident she initially suffered from blurry eyes and headaches which turned into blindness around the time when her baby girl was born.
“Her headaches are constant and she suffers from seizures every now and again which drains her. [TN] testified that the incident and injuries are affecting her terribly because cannot finish school and that there is no special school for the blind in the area where she lives."
She told the court she cannot look after her own child and has to rely on the assistance of her mother and father.
“She does not even know what her three-and-a-half year old child looks like. When she became blind she was not sure what was happening to her. She was very down and could not believe what had happened to her.”
Van der Merwe described TN as a brave young woman under the circumstances, who is dependent on her mother for most of her daily activities and who testified as to how the loss of sight affected all aspects of her life.
sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za
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