The high court has put a smile on the face of a pensioner who was injured six years ago when a timber shelf fell on her while she was shopping for groceries.
Pretoria resident Mmampelege Matlou is suing Big Save for R1m in the high court in Pretoria after she was injured at one of its Hammanskraal outlets in February 2019.
The retailer tried to shift blame, reporting that a fellow shopper had knocked into the timber that struck Matlou. It also argued she could have avoided the accident because there were two disclaimer notices at the entrance warning that customers entered “at own risk”.
But acting judge Khashane Manamela rejected Big Save’s defence, ruling that the company was fully liable to compensate Matlou for “proven or agreed damages arising from the incident or accident which occurred on February 6 2019”.
She didn’t see any timber lying around in the store, as if it is a hardware store, as the place only sells groceries. There was actually nothing she could have done to prevent the incident.
— Acting judge Khashane Manamela
“The [retailer] admitted that the ‘incident’ occurred at its premises on 6 February 2019, but denied that the incident was as a result of its negligence or that of its employees. It pleaded that an unknown male customer [‘the third party’] bumped the shelf inside the premises or store causing the timber or plank to fall onto [Matlou],” the judgment reads.
Big Save argued the negligence of the third party caused the accident, meaning the claim “ought to be directed at the third party and not against [Big Save]”. The retailer also submitted that even if staff were negligent, their actions “did not cause or contribute to the incident”.
Matlou testified to support her claim, while Big Save called its first-aid manager, Thapelo Khosa, as a witness.
According to the judgment, the retailer “heavily relied on a video which appears to have been generated from the video surveillance cameras”.
Matlou told the court she was walking in the store when a piece of timber fell onto her.
“She did not see anyone touch the timber. After that, the people in the store called out the names Mpho and Long. A gentleman called Mpho (later in the trial it turned out that this is in reference to Mr Thapelo Khosa, the retailer’s witness) and he came to where she was seated,” the judgment reads.
“She didn’t see any timber lying around in the store, as if it is a hardware store, as the place only sells groceries. There was actually nothing she could have done to prevent the incident.”
Khosa testified that Matlou told him she had suffered injuries when he assisted her. As a first-aider, he could not assess the injuries but applied pain ointment to the affected area. He offered to call an ambulance, but she declined. Khosa confirmed he was the safety representative for the retailer and conceded he could not dispute that the incident happened.
Manamela found that Matlou had proved “elements in the delictual claim” against Big Save. The extent of damages will be determined in the next phase of the case. The court ordered Big Save to pay Matlou’s legal costs and held it “fully liable” for her damages.
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