Woman gets R1.3m after boot camp injury

A GAME lodge outside Middelburg, Mpumalanga which ran a boot camp five years ago during which a former beautician and now school teacher was badly injured, has to pay her R1.3 million in damages.

Charline Viljoen of eMalahleni broke her ankles when she fell from a zipline into a dam beneath. She claimed that the people who ran the boot camp never showed her how to operate the zipline.

The owners of the uBhetyan African Game Lodge, however, said that Viljoen, 36, had known the risks posed by a boot camp and she was fine with it. They also claimed that the fall had been her fault, as her hands had been wet and the handle of the slide had slipped out of her hands.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that the owners of the game farm were 100% liable for her damages because no one had demonstrated to Viljoen how she was supposed to operate the zipline.

The court decided on the amount of damages which the mother of two was to be awarded.

Viljoen initially claimed damages on behalf of her son, who she said had been bitten by a meerkat during their stay at the lodge. She subsequently withdrew that claim.

She told the court that she and her family loved the outdoors and were sporty people. They went to the boot camp in March 2014. She and her husband joined other participants at the obstacle course.

Viljoen said no risks had been explained to them. Part of the course was the zipline, which ran 8m above a dam. She had no idea how deep the dam was. A marshal had handed her the bar of the zipline, but she was given no instructions as what to do. Her hands had been wet as she had just finished an obstacle which involved water.

She dried her hands on her shirt and grabbed hold of the zipline handle. It slipped out of her hands and she fell into the dam. Her body went numb and she could not feel her legs. She was rushed to hospital where she was treated.

The owners of the game farm said there had been marshals along the course to guide the participants, but Viljoen said they had been there for fun as she had seen them laughing and playing around.

The court found the owners had a legal duty to ensure boot camp participants were safe, but that there had been no trained marshals.

Viljoen said it had taken months for her ankles to heal as she had suffered three fractures. She also tore a ligament in her knee. She could no longer wear high heels or walk across uneven surfaces.

Judge Ronel Tolmay said it seemed Viljoen felt embarrassed and even unattractive as a result of her injuries. She is no longer as sociable as before and has been suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Experts said a knee replacement was on the cards for Viljoen.

Judge Tolmay said she took into consideration that Viljoen was disfigured and unable to take part in activities as before. Her award of R1.3m included R730 000 for future medical costs and R400 000 in general damages.

Experts said that a knee replacement was on the cards for Viljoen