Pietermaritzburg - A Durban security van driver who was wounded twice during an attempted heist has correctly been awarded damages of R180 000, the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled on Tuesday.
Judge Esther Steyn and acting Judge Piet Bezuidenhout held that driver Lesley Chetty had believed an assurance made by an operations manager that the vehicle was bullet-proof.
Had he been told that a firearm more powerful than an AK47 rifle could penetrate the van he would not have accepted the job.
The court found the operations manager of Protea Coin Group had misrepresented to Chetty that even a firearm more powerful than an AK47 could not penetrate the vehicle.
This assurance amounted to negligence.
Chetty was wounded while driving to Newcastle in March 2004. The money award was made in the Durban High Court, with Protea Coin Group appealing against the judgment and award in favour of Chetty.
Steyn and Bezuidenhout dismissed Protea's appeal.
Chetty was shot in the chin and once in the body. He was left with seven bullet wound scars, four surgical scars, and said he suffered intense pain.
Sapa