Pretoria - Piet Booyse once owned an auto electrical business and lived in Pretoria North, but today he is reliant on a state pension and has settled in a dilapidated room on a smallholding in Wallmannsthal.
His troubles started when he fell into an uncovered manhole three years ago and severely injured the right side of his body as well as his private parts. Booyse, 69, is claiming R2.7 million in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, from the Justice and Public Works ministries.
The trial was due to kick off on Tuesday, but at the last minute the ministers conceded 70% liability of the damages Booyse could prove that he suffered. The amount of damages payable to him will be determined at a later stage.
His ill-fortune happened in the evening when he was leaving the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court after attending a small claims court case.
Booyse said he was walking out on the paved pathway in the semi-dark, when he suddenly disappeared into the uncovered manhole.
“I did not see it at all. I just felt that I was falling,” he said.
Nearby security guards rescued him and he was taken to hospital.
He severely injured his right leg, his back and neck and his scrotum, which was nearly torn off.
Booyse said he had to give up his business as he was in no state to work. He can hardly pick up any heavy items.
He also broke some teeth and his spectacles were shattered. “I feel bitter, because up to now nobody wanted to take responsibility. There was hardly any lighting and the path was narrow. How can they endanger the public’s lives by not covering the manhole in the path?”
Booyse said he was now down and out and had no money nor means to pay for the follow-up operation he had to undergo. “My sister had to sell her house to try to pay my expenses.”
He said apart from still enduring pain and the fact that he could hardly move his neck, he was also suffering from severe urological problems, which made life difficult.
“I am living in a shack-type of room on a plot without electricity because I have nowhere else to go. The money, when I get it, will at least assist me in getting the medical help I urgently need.”
His lawyer, Konrad Rontgen, said Booyse would now be sent to a host of specialists to determine the extent of the injuries he suffered.
Pretoria News