Pretoria - The North West MEC of Education this week lost an appeal against an earlier order to pay damages to a then 18-year-old matric pupil left a paraplegic after he was carried off the field without a neck brace or stretcher following a rugby injury.
Izak Foster, who was injured in May 2006, and his father, Guillaume Foster, instituted a multimillion-rand damages claim against the education authorities.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in 2020 ordered that the department was liable for 100% of the damages that Foster, now in his thirties, could prove he had suffered as a result of the manner in which he was carried off the field.
The MEC, however, turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and argued that the education authority could not be blamed for what happened.
Foster played in a rugby tournament, representing his school, Hoërskool Lichtenburg, against Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom, which hosted the tournament.
Both schools fall under the North West Province Education Department.
Foster was tackled by a player from the opposing team and fell. While on the ground another player fell on top of him. He sustained an injury to his neck as a result.
Two first aid personnel carried him off the field without stabilising his neck with a spine board or solid neck brace. This caused a second injury to Foster, and the damages claim revolves around the second injury.
He was later taken by ambulance to Mediclinic Potchefstroom, where he received treatment before being airlifted to a hospital in Pretoria. He was discharged four months later and doctors told him he would never walk again.
The high court found the two medics who carried Foster from the field were negligent in doing so without proper support.
They simply carried him off with their bare hands, despite pleas from Foster to leave him on the ground until they obtained a stretcher or something to support his back. He told them at the time that he could not feel his legs.
Foster said as they moved him he tried to keep his head still to minimise further damage as he knew he had a neck injury.
They placed him in a semi-sitting position, he said, and his head kept flipping forwards and backwards. He said as he was carried off the field, he heard a “clacking” noise in his neck.
It emerged during the trial that the first aid attendants who carried Foster were not registered with the Health Professions Council of SA, as they should have been.
SCA Judge Constance Mocumie, in the opening to her judgment, said despite it being a much-loved national sport in South Africa and played worldwide, rugby is a dangerous sport because it involves physical contact, and may result in permanent paralysis.
“Because of all the attendant risks, there has for many years been insistence on emergency measures, including professional first aid services being available at rugby matches.
“One would therefore not expect a player to be injured by the paramedics and/or people meant to attend to their injuries in an emergency, as happened in this case.”
The judge said it is undisputed that Foster was carried off the field without neck and back support, which caused his second injury.
The court heard that there was only one spine board available that morning. At the time Foster was injured, it was being used at another sports field.
The judge said Volkskool knew about the risks involved in playing rugby and should have ensured the appointment of a first aid provider and personnel who were qualified for the job.
She said it was “chilling” that only one spineboard was available that day for all the sporting events at the school.
As the school fell under the MEC, the judge concluded that that was the office liable for the damages.
Pretoria News