2 days Ago By Molefe Seeletsa
A woman who sued the City of Cape Town for injuries sustained after tripping on an uneven sidewalk has lost her case. On Monday, the Western Cape High Court ruled against Magdalena Maria Schaefer, who had filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the municipality after falling on Victoria Road in Camps Bay. The incident occurred on 27 October 2017.
Women seeks damages from City of Cape Town On the day of the fall, Schaefer had taken her friend, Daleen Botha, on a sightseeing tour around Cape Town in preparation for her 50th birthday celebration. After visiting various tourist attractions, the women stopped at a restaurant in Camps Bay, where they each had a drink before heading to catch the last Red Bus tour back to the V&A Waterfront. The last bus was set to depart from Victoria Road at around 6pm, giving the pair approximately 30 minutes to wrap up their activities.
ALSO READ: Another court blow for City of Cape Town against EFF and Bulelani Qolani While walking briskly toward the bus stop, Schaefer’s left foot caught on a raised paving brick, causing her to fall, and leading to a serious knee injury. Medical examinations later confirmed she had suffered a comminuted patella fracture, meaning her kneecap was shattered into multiple pieces. Botha corroborated Schaefer’s account of the fall and took photographs immediately after the incident.
City of Cape Town denies negligence Schaefer argued in court that the uneven sidewalk on Victoria Road was hazardous to pedestrians and that the City of Cape Town was responsible for its maintenance and safety. She claimed the municipality and its officials were aware — or should have been aware — of the danger but failed to take corrective action, such as repairing the surface or putting up warning signs. However, the City of Cape Town initially disputed that the incident even took place.
READ MORE: Prasa fined R25 000 by City of Cape Town for contravening zoning laws While it acknowledged its general responsibility for sidewalk safety, the municipality denied negligence in this specific case. The city maintained that it had taken reasonable steps, within its financial means, to ensure pedestrian safety. It further argued that Schaefer failed to exercise caution by not keeping a proper lookout and could have avoided the fall had she been more attentive.
High Court judgment In his ruling, Acting Judge Adrian Montzinger found that while the City of Cape Town initially denied the incident, the evidence strongly supported Schaefer’s version of events. “The oral, documentary and photographic evidence presented during the trial left no room for dispute that the events that caused the plaintiff’s injury occurred,” the judgment reads. However, Montzinger pointed out that the protruding bricks were minor and did not pose a significant hazard, such as an open manhole or a large pothole.
“There was no evidence that the city was informed or otherwise on notice of the defect. READ MORE: City Parks agrees to remove trees outside Joburg resident’s house despite court victory “A sidewalk defect that had not been previously reported, and that has not resulted in other incidents, suggests the risk of serious harm was relatively low. “The plaintiff’s own account indicates that this was a single instance of harm occurring after protruding pavement caught her foot while walking briskly; no pattern of incidents or complaints suggests a chronic danger,” he said.
The judge emphasised that while the city is responsible for infrastructure maintenance, no law requires it to keep sidewalks in perfect condition at all times. “Instead, the obligation is to maintain reasonably safe sidewalks, subject to its resource and operational constraints.” City of Cape Town’s budget Montzinger highlighted that a witness on behalf of the city testified about annual budget allocations for road and sidewalk resurfacing.
The witness stated that the city had done its best within budget constraints, as hiring an inspector for District 5, including Victoria Road, would cost R2.1 million — far exceeding its R1.13 million annual budget for footways and verges.
He also noted that Schaefer herself acknowledged sidewalks can have minor irregularities, reinforcing that the city could not have foreseen a serious injury from such a minor defect. “Could the city have readily prevented this incident by either warning or repairing the protruding brick? “Probably, yes, if the city had known about, it could have replaced or levelled the brick at minimal cost,” Montzinger said. READ MORE: City of Cape Town considers renaming these roads after Tutu and Van de Rheede “In fact, the evidence was that the city did fix the sidewalk soon after the incident that involved the plaintiff.
“However, the fixing of the sidewalk was done as soon as the incident involving the plaintiff came to the city’s knowledge. “This indicates to me that had the city known about the defective sidewalk, it would have implemented its processes to rectify it.” The court, therefore, dismissed Schaefer’s claim for delictual damages.
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