Court finds GrandWest liable for gross negligence, damages pending
Child electrocuted by exposed wire near water-based rink
Safety protocols failed during post-holiday venue dismantling
A January 2020 family outing to the Grandwest Casino in Cape Town, South Africa, turned into a nightmare after a four-year-old girl was electrocuted at a children’s ice-skating rink, prompting the girl’s father to sue.
The kids’ ice rink at the GrandWest Casino where the accident occurred. The court ruled the operator was liable for gross negligence for leaving an exposed electrical wire on the floor close to the ice rink. (GrandWest Casino)
On August 5, the Western Cape High Court found the casino operator, SunWest International, liable for damages for gross negligence because a live electrical wire was left unattended on a floor crowded with families next to the ice rink.
The plaintiff is not identified in court filings or media reports. That’s in line with South African legal practice, which protects the identity of minors and relatives that might identify them in judicial proceedings.
Exposed Wire
According to the lawsuit, the ice rink was crowded on the day of the incident as people were still enjoying the last days of the Christmas holidays. The plaintiff’s daughter was holding on to a metal pole watching the skaters when she suddenly screamed and started shaking.
Her father pulled her towards him and saw red marks on her hands. Then he noticed the exposed electrical wire on the floor and realized the girl had been electrocuted.
GrandWest’s floor manager arrived and instructed security not to disconnect power immediately, insisting an incident report be completed first, even though the plug point was only about 20 feet from the ice rink, according to the lawsuit.
Paramedics treated the child at the scene before the family took her to a local hospital, where she recovered.
The court heard that a contractor had dismantled a Christmas tree the day before, leaving the lighting wires behind. But that didn’t wash with the judge who said GrandWest’s own electrical team had the responsibility to safely disconnect the wiring.
A GrandWest engineering manager admitted in court that the leftover wires had not been removed. If they had been, the girl would not have been electrocuted, she conceded.
Foreseeable Risk
The casino disputed that its conduct constituted gross negligence because it said it had posted warning notices around the venue. But the High Court ruled these did not absolve GrandWest of responsibility for gross negligence, which is a higher standard than ordinary negligence. The court determined the risk had been foreseeable.
The ruling places liability on GrandWest for the harm suffered by the child.
A separate hearing will determine the amount of damages to be awarded. The court has granted legal costs to the plaintiff on a party-and-party basis.
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