The owners of a Cape Town home where a toddler suffered severe brain damage after falling into the pool have won their fight to avoid paying tens of millions of rand in damages.
A couple from Constantia went to the Supreme Court of Appeal after the High Court in Cape Town said they should bear two-thirds of the liability for the accident because they had been negligent in leaving the pool gate open.
Judge Michael Donen said the two-and-a-half-year-old girl’s mother‚ who was moving her daughter’s car seat from one vehicle to another when the accident happened‚ should bear the rest of the blame for her failure to monitor her child.
The girl was found in the pool while a group of Christian women were having tea after a two-hour prayer meeting at the Constantia house‚ which also operates as a four-star guesthouse.
Granting the Constantia couple’s appeal against the high court finding in favour of the girl’s parents‚ Appeal Judge Lorimer Leach said the issue to be decided was straightforward: “Whether‚ when a toddler is brought to the private premises of a homeowner in the custody and supervision of her parent‚ the homeowner should be held liable if the parent‚ momentarily distracted‚ allows the child out of her sight — and the child is then injured when falling into a swimming pool of which her mother was aware”.
He said the homeowner could reasonably expect the parent to supervise the child‚ but added: “This does not imply that the [girl’s mother] was negligent in this tragic affair. Accidents unfortunately do happen. But the fact that an accident happens does not mean the someone must be held liable.”
The parents of the girl‚ who is now 15‚ claimed almost R63-million. None of the parties in the case can be named.
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