Play area damages claim turned down

PRETORIA: Parents cannot simply say a restaurant with a play area is liable if their child gets hurt playing there as they have a responsibility to supervise their children.

This was the judgment of the high court in Pretoria, which turned down a damages claim by a couple whose 13-year-old son hurt his neck on a trampoline at Mike’s Kitchen at the Makhado Crossing shopping centre in Louis Trichardt.

The court found that the restaurant had not been negligent as the trampoline was not faulty and had a protection net around it.

Rather, it found that the boy was too big for the trampoline, which was intended for smaller children, and that he had done three back flips on the day he was hurt.

Judge Mabel Jansen

said children should be free to play and explore their environment within acceptable limitations, but this should be under adult supervision.

In opening remarks to her judgment, Judge Jansen said the application raised the interesting question of whether a restaurant had a legal duty to ensure the safety of children using a playground area it provided for their amusement.

She stressed that it was never claimed that the play equipment at the Mike’s Kitchen in question posed a danger per se. The argument was that the restaurant had omitted to take the necessary precautions to prevent injury to users on the equipment.

The issue to be decided was whether Mike’s Kitchen had a legal duty to prevent injury to the child. His mother conceded he was difficult to control.

On the day he was hurt, he had begged her for a milkshake.

She gave him money to go to Mike’s Kitchen while she continued with her shopping.

While he was waiting for the shake to be prepared, he jumped unsupervised on the trampoline, falling on his head during a backward flip.

His mother admitted he was too tall for the trampoline and staff said he had been chased away from the premises in the past because he disregarded the rules of the play area.

Witnesses for the restaurant said the rule was that children were allowed to play on the premises only under adult supervision. Judge Jansen agreed and said the outlet could not be saddled with a greater legal duty than that which the law imposes on parents.

The court heard that the boy had to have a plate inserted in his neck and that he may not participate in contact sport, something he had loved.