The mother of a two-year-old who was electrocuted by an electric transformer while playing in an area close to the transformer succeeded in her damages claim against the King Sabato Dalindyebo Municipality in the Eastern Cape after her child suffered severe injuries as a result.

The mother turned to the Mthatha High Court as she held the municipality responsible for her child’s injuries. She told the court that the municipality had a duty to safeguard residents from harm.

On June 6, 2022, the child and other children of the neighbourhood were playing in Thole Street, Ngangelizwe, Mthatha, near the transformer.

Moments later, the child was found lying under the transformer, unresponsive, with burn wounds on both her forearms and hands. She was admitted to the hospital, where she received treatment for burn wounds, including a skin graft operation.

The transformer was a step-down transformer, used by the municipality to convert high voltage electricity of 11,000 volts to 400 volts for consumption by domestic consumers.

It was said that transformers of this nature are usually pole-mounted overhead and high above the ground to ensure that the electricity transmitted by the transformer does not pose a danger to members of the public who may come into contact with it.

However, this transformer was installed close to the ground in Thole Street, approximately 20 metres from where the mother and child lived.

The mother said that before the incident, a local community member warned the municipality that the transformer was dangerous to the public, but nothing was done, as it was left open and uncovered.

The mother testified that on the day of the incident, the child left their home with another child to play outside in Thole Street with the neighbourhood children.

She herself also left, and while she was out, another woman came rushing up to her to tell her her child had been “burned”.

She hurried back to her house, and on arrival, she found the child being carried in the arms of her neighbour. She noticed that both the forearms and hands of the child were “burned”. The mother testified that the child appeared to be unconscious. The child, meanwhile, remained in the hospital for six weeks.

A neighbour, Ntombifuthi Siphamla, testified that she was seated next to her house and saw the child playing with other children near the transformer. Later, she heard a loud sound, which she described as sounding like thunder, and noticed the child lying down on the ground under the transformer. She pulled her from underneath the transformer towards the tarred road. The child was silent and did not cry at all.

According to the witnesses of the municipality, they had erected a fence around the transformer years ago and thus deemed it to be safe.

The court said that even if it accepted this evidence, the municipality’s conduct would still have fallen short of the standard of care which could be expected of it.

There is also some blameworthiness on the mother’s part for the injuries sustained by the child, as she left her unsupervised while she knew the transformer was nearby, the court said.

But, the court added, although she is also partly to blame for not supervising her child adequately, her lack of supervision is not the sole cause of the injuries sustained by the child.

The municipality cannot, therefore, escape liability based on the mother’s contributory negligence, the court concluded. The amount of damages payable will be determined at a later stage.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za

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