- A woman who slipped on a path at Pollsmoor Prison was given the go ahead to claim damages for the incident.
- She was visiting a family member at the prison in 2017 when a piece of concrete came loose and she fell, spraining her ankle.
- The departments of correctional services and public works argued that as a frequent visitor she would have known the condition of the path, and that she may even have staged the fall.
The Western Cape High Court ruled that correctional services and public works departments are liable for damages sustained by a woman who slipped at Pollsmoor Prison while visiting a relative.
Judge Hayley Slingers rejected the attempt at blaming the woman by saying she should have looked where she was going and should have known that the path was uneven because she visits the prison frequently.
The departments had also suggested that she staged the incident, but the court found that they did not substantiate either of these allegations.
The woman slipped when a piece of concrete on the path near the visitors' centre broke in April 2017.
According to Slingers' judgment on Wednesday, the correctional services officials fetched a cushion for her head and an umbrella to protect her from the sun while she lay on the ground with a sprained ankle.
She had fallen just near an aloe plant which also partially blocked the path. Six of the officials helped her into the car when her lift arrived.
In December 2017, she started the damages action, claiming that the two departments were responsible for maintaining the path.
The path was fixed the following year with leftover paving bricks from a previous job. During her application, the departments argued that nobody else had fallen on the path before, that she was familiar with the path, and that she may even had staged the fall.
The court heard evidence from an architect and a health and safety specialist, as well as some of the maintenance staffers at the prison in Tokai.
The court found the department 100% liable for damages that still have to be quantified.