Ex-schoolboy sues Saru

Published Nov 19, 2008

Share

A young man who was left paralysed after his spine was injured during a scrum in a rugby match is now suing the SA Rugby Union (Saru), the Boland Rugby Union and the Mamre Rugby Club for R9-million.

The 23-year-old man from the small West Coast town of Mamre is also suing the head of the Western Cape Health Department for alleged negligent medical attendance, which is included in the R9m claim.

The Cape High Court action stems from a home game Charles Oppelt played as a member of the Mamre Rugby Club in 2002, when he was 17 years old.

At the time, Oppelt was 1,65m tall and weighed 60kg. He was selected to play hooker position in the front row at a senior level, which was not specified in the court records.

The injury took place during a contested scrum.

Now he has lost his independence and struggles to perform tasks that able-bodied people take for granted .

In his court papers, Oppelt says he should not have been selected to play in a match above his age level and in a front row position unless the scrums were uncontested.

He says Saru and Boland Rugby knew that the game was a contact sport and that players were at risk of being injured.

Scrumming was an integral part of the game but it was potentially hazardous if those in the front row were not suited to that position or trained for it, he says.

In such an event, the referee was obliged to order uncontested set scrums where the teams may not compete for the ball and the team putting in the ball must win it, he claims. Neither team would then be allowed to push the other away from the mark.

Oppelt also says that the referee, appointed by Saru, should have been instructed not to permit contested scrums.

According to court papers, the incident in which Oppelt was injured took place at about 2,45pm.

An ambulance took him to Wesfleur Hospital in Atlantis and he arrived there at about 3,30pm.

But he was transferred to Groote Schuur Hospital by ambulance two hours later.

At about 9pm, his injury was evaluated by an orthopaedic surgeon.

At 5am the following day, he was transferred to the spinal unit at Conradie Hospital in Pinelands where his spinal injury was reduced under traction.

Oppelt says the injury should have been treated with the greatest urgency.

He added that the injury might have not have been so severe if he had been treated within four hours.

This would have been possible if he had been air-lifted by helicopter, he says, adding that weather conditions had been favourable.

Oppelt also says in his papers that there was a toll-free SA Rugby Spine Line, which was linked to the emergency control room of the Western Cape paramedic services.

The SA Rugby Spine Line also worked in conjunction with the Red Cross Air Mercy Service, which could dispatch a helicopter to the scene immediately.

He says the defendants failed to make use of the Spine Line and did not ensure that proper medical personnel attended.

Oppelt's R9,124m claim comprises medical expenses, loss of income and general damages.

He will need a full-time caregiver as well as treatment by a neurologist, orthopaedic surgeon and urologist. He will also need a plastic surgeon to treat pressure sores.

If he hadn't been injured, he would have completed a business management course, he said.

The hospital, Saru, Boland Rugby and the Mamre club have denied the allegations of negligence.

All four say in court papers that Oppelt was aware of the risks of participating in a scrum and that he had accepted the position when he was selected.

Saru denied that the referee had been appointed by it and added that, according to International Rugby Board rules, it was not the referee's responsibility to determine the suitability of the front row placements.

Related Topics: