Eskom is facing yet another damages claim relating to the injury of child who came in contact with a live electrical powerline.
The mother of a seven-year-old boy, who is claiming R5 million in damages from the power giant, turned to the Makhanda High Court in the Eastern Cape in a bid to hold Eskom liable for the damages.
She said her son, only identified as Y in court papers due to his age, had been playing in a tree when he touched a loose powerline.
She claimed that either Eskom or the employees of the KSD Local Municipality in the area where she lived, had left the cable dangling in the foliage.
The incident occurred on January 19, 2017, at Ncambedlana, in Mthatha district.
Both the mother and other members of the local community had previously alerted the employees to the danger posed by the powerline, but to no avail, the court was told.
It was the mother’s case that Section 25 of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 imputed negligence to Eskom.
She added that the municipality should also be held responsible, as it had a duty to prevent injury to the child and the public in general.
She listed several grounds on which to assert that the defendants had been negligent, averring that they had, among others, failed to place the powerline at a safe height above the ground and failed to display sufficient warning signs.
The mother said their negligence had resulted in injuries to Y, who suffered burns to various parts of his body.
The R5m she claimed included compensation for estimated future medical expenses and general damages suffered by her and her son as result of the incident.
Eskom, however, pleaded that it was not the owner or supplier of the electrical infrastructure and equipment situated at Ncambedlana, where the incident happened. It was, consequently, not liable for the damages incurred, it said.
It did admit that Eskom had a duty to lead its powerlines at a safe height above the ground, but the power giant denied that its employees had been negligent.
The municipality, on the other hand, said it too, should not be held liable for the incident. It said that in 2016, the municipality entered into a service-level agreement with a provider described as Deep Blue Sea Investments.
According to the municipality, it was the responsibility of the service provider to refurbish the electrical infrastructure for certain areas within the district of Mthatha, including Ncambedlana where the incident happened.
At the time of the incident, the infrastructure was under the control and supervision of the service provider, thus the municipality was not liable, the court was told.
The court was at this stage asked to, in terms of the statement of facts, decide who should take responsibility for the incident.
Judge JGA Laing said it was not in dispute that the child had suffered injuries after touching a live wire.
The wire ran through a tree and was left loosely hanging by employees of either Eskom or the municipality, he said.
He also noted that the mother, who resides close to where the tree was situated, and other members of the public, had on numerous occasions complained to Eskom and the municipality about the danger which the wires running through the tree posed to the public and children playing in the area.
While the municipality submitted the service-level agreement it had with Deep Blue Sea Investments, the judge said there was no express agreement about the nature and extent of the rights and duties that arose under the agreement.
It merely records that the municipality appointed the service provider for the refurbishment of certain electrical infrastructure.
The judge said the facts at that stage were too limited for the court to make a finding regarding liability.
“There is simply no evidence, in short, to demonstrate that the powerline was the service provider’s responsibility,” the judge said.
He said the various parties would have to give evidence in court before it could be established who was liable to compensate the mother.
Eskom is meanwhile facing another damages claim by the parents of a 9-year-old child who was injured in Limpopo by live powerlines on the ground.
The child stepped on the line while looking for his sister in an open field.
In that case Eskom said the local municipality should be held responsible.
Pretoria News