A game of water polo involving learners from two of Cape Town’s most prestigious schools, which resulted in a brawl with one player assaulting the other, has resulted in a R645,000 damages claim.
The Western Cape High Court this week ruled that Bingo Ivanisevic of Bishops Diocesan College, who punched Ross Stone of Rondebosch Boys’ High School, is 100% liable for Stone’s damages.
Ivanisevic on February 3, 2018, knocked out several of Stone’s teeth. He also suffered injuries to his face and jaw. Both learners were in Grade 12 at the time.
Stone also instituted the claim against Bishops, holding the school equally liable for the damages he had suffered.
Stone reasoned that when the incident occurred, Bishops, acting through its teachers, coaches and other members of staff, bore a duty not to cause him harm. He said that Bishops was thus an alleged joint wrongdoer.
But Judge Judy Cloete turned down the claim against the school, as she said according to the evidence, Bishops could not have foreseen the attack which occurred while they were participating in a water polo match held at Bishops.
Stone testified that he played attack and as usual had been wearing a number 6 (white) cap. The match was in its final chukka, and the score was tied at that stage.
Stone had already scored five goals for Rondebosch. Ivanisevic, a defender, had not been marking him in the earlier chukkas. At that point, the Rondebosch team was on defence.
Stone intercepted and secured the ball, going on attack towards the goals with the ball in front of him. He was about five metres from the goals when another player swam over his right arm, resulting in Rondebosch being awarded a 5-metre penalty.
Ivanisevic swam over Stone’s back as he advanced towards the goal, causing Stone to be pushed under water for a few seconds.
He testified that he came from under the water and gasped for air. His mouth was open, and as he reached the surface, he felt a swinging arm connecting with his mouth.
Stone further testified that immediately thereafter, the referee blew a time-out, called the game and gave a red card to Ivanisevic.
As soon as Stone realised how badly he was hurt, he swam to the side of the pool and was taken to hospital. (Added "was" for grammatical correctness)
Ivanisevic testified that he and Stone had previously played against each other in a number of water polo (and rugby) matches without any altercation or other incident.
He described Ross’s position in the team as an attacking player and his as a defender and said his primary task was to mark the “main threat” - Stone.
Ivanisevic also referred to the hissing, swearing and booing of the Rondebosch spectators to which he said he was yet again subjected during the match.
In explaining what happened, he testified that he and his teammate were chasing Stone to stop him from scoring. The next thing he knew he was pulled under by the drawstrings of his cap and he also received a few blows from Stone.
“I started to take in water and started panicking; there was adrenaline rushing through my body. In that frame of mind, I swung a reaction punch at Ross because he was fighting me under water,” he testified.
Ivanisevic issued a plea of self-defence and said he was instructed by his coach to defend against Stone.
Judge Cloete said the evidence established on a balance of probabilities that Ivanisevic made an unprovoked attack on Stone.
A reasonable, experienced water polo player would have foreseen that pushing Ross under water so that he could not breathe could cause Ross to react in a manner enabling him to surface; and the force of the punch above water caused Ross serious injury,” the judge said.
She added that given the various reports issued after an investigation into the incident, it can fairly be concluded that Ivanisevic’s punch to Stone exceeded any legitimate expectation for receiving an injury of that nature in a contact sport such as water polo.
“It follows that Ross’s claim against Bingo on the merits succeeds,” she said.
In turning to his claim against Bishops, the judge said that the incident was unexpected and took everyone (including probably Bishops) by surprise.
“The inescapable conclusion is that Bishops did not breach its duty to Ross by playing Bingo in the match, and could not reasonably have foreseen the incident occurring,” she concluded.
The amount of damages payable to Stone will meanwhile be decided at a later stage.