A 20-YEAR-OLD Gweru resident has filed a $250 000 lawsuit against power utility, Zesa, for acting negligently and causing his hand to be amputated after he was severely burnt by low-lying live cables late last year.
BY SILAS NKALA
In summons filed at the Bulawayo High Court on December 15, Erasmus Dube said he dropped out of school as a result of the injuries and suffered permanent disabilities, which rendered him ineligible for formal employment.
“The plaintiff claims for an order compelling the defendant to pay damages for injuries sustained and medical expenses of $252 239,47 calculated at $60 000 being damages for pain and suffering, $160 000 being damages for permanent disfigurement and loss of amenities, $30 000 being for future medication, $2 239,47 being for medical expenses and the costs of the suit,” the summons read.
In his declaration of the claim, Dube said on December 14, 2015 his hand accidentally got in contact with a live low-lying 11 kilovolts conductor in Hozheri village, resulting in his amputation.
He said he was severely burnt on the right hand palm, armpits and he also sustained head injuries when he fell to the ground.
“The plaintiff sustained severe injuries as a result of the electrocution leading to the amputation of his left hand,” the declaration read. “The electrocution was solely caused by negligence and wrongfulness of the defendant through the defendant’s failure to … fix a fault, which had occurred, knowing fully the dangers associated with such a fault, the live cable was lying low for over a month before the electrocution. The defendant failed to take reasonable measures to disconnect the electricity transmission after the fault had occurred so that the low lying live cable would not carry power, which ended up injuring the plaintiff.”
Dube said he was of school-going age when he was injured and had to drop out as he spent several months in hospital.
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“The plaintiff was admitted at the Gweru Provincial Hospital and Mpilo Central Hospital consecutively from December 14, 2015 to March 5, 2016. His hand was amputated and underwent grafting.”
ZETDC is yet to respond to the summons.
