A taxi driver who suffered multiple fractures after his minibus crashed into a cow, lost his R2.8 million in damages claim against a Limpopo municipality.
He said the firefighters who had rescued him had injured his foot with the Jaws of Life.
Hulisani Sithangu turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) after the high court in Limpopo turned down his claim against the Capricorn District Municipality. He said the municipality should be held liable for the conduct of its firefighters.
The SCA also concluded that Sithangu had not proved that the firefighters were responsible for the open fracture on the right heel fat pad of his foot.
Sithangu was involved in an accident on the road between Polokwane and Mankweng when the minibus he was driving crashed into a cow. He got trapped in the wreckage of his minibus. Firefighters were called to the scene, and they used the Jaws of Life to extricate him from the wreckage.
According to a medical report, he sustained multiple fractures on the lower part of his body involving both knees, left and right tibia and fibula, both ankles and an open fracture of the right heel fat pad.
Sithangu testified that after the collision, his minibus had been extensively damaged and his legs had been trapped in the wreckage.
He said that because of the collision, the brake booster, a part of the vehicle located next to the steering wheel mechanism, had collapsed and landed on his right leg. His leg had got trapped, impeding his ability to move.
He said he had been unable to open the door on the driver’s side because it was damaged. He had remained trapped in the wreckage for one-and-a-half hours during which time, he had been in terrible pain. At some point, he had lost sensation in his left leg.
Sithangu said that before the firefighters had arrived, he had asked the onlookers to take off his shoes because he had a burning sensation in his feet. He had been unable to do it himself because he could not reach his feet as he was trapped and could not bend. However, his feet had not been trapped.
Sithangu could not say how his right heel fat pad had been cut because during the rescue operation, the firefighters had told him that he must not look at them while they worked on his leg.
He said that the moment they had begun touching his right leg, he had asked them not to do so because he had not thought his right leg had been injured. The next moment, he had heard one of the firefighters exclaiming: “S***”.
He said the firefighters had quickly dressed his deeply lacerated right foot with a bandage. They had placed him in an ambulance and taken him to Polokwane Mediclinic.
Sithangu said he had noticed that his right heel was badly injured only after the hospital staff had removed the wound dressing.
The municipality’s head of emergency management services denied that the rescue team could have cut Sithangu’s right heel fat pad off while rescuing him.
He explained that once the team has stabilised the vehicle, the Jaws of Life were used to cut the wreckage and remove any metal that might be in their way. A ram was also used during the operation to separate the sections of the vehicle. The ram enabled the rescue crew to pull an occupant from the wreckage.
He said he had never experienced the rescue team being “so reckless that they even touch the patient”.
Judge Dumisani Zondi, who wrote the SCA judgment, said the medical report indicated that the applicant sustained multiple fractures, including an open fracture of the right heel fat pad.
“Because of this, it is not unreasonable to assume that all the injuries sustained by the applicant that evening were as a result of the accident,” he said.
The judge said Sithangu could not say that the firefighters had injured his foot, as he had not witnessed it.
In turning down the appeal, the judge said that according to Sithangu’s version, his right leg had not been numb. It was therefore improbable that he would not have become aware when the firefighters had cut his right heel pad, as he had claimed.
Pretoria News
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