The Gauteng Department of Education remains committed to ensuring that Lewis Wynne, the boy whose legs were amputated when a tree fell onto his classroom last October, is receiving the necessary care and support he deserves.
The Department has engaged a range of medical and rehabilitation experts to assist in quantifying the amount which should be paid to Lewis family to assist him going forward. GDE has also made a place available at Hope School, a school that provides quality education, therapy and accommodation to physically disabled learners.
This was a tragic accident, and our sympathies remain with this brave little boy and his family. We remain committed to an equitable settlement which will help ensure Lewis’s future.
At the outset of the accident, the department advised the family to get their own attorney and submit a claim. Ordinarily these types of claims take years to settle with the family needing to first prove liability in court and then litigate for a cash settlement.
To avoid a long drawn out legal process with the court possibly taking time to find a date to hear the matter, the department offered to settle the claim out of court. This was done in the interests of making sure that Lewis’s needs, and his on-going recuperation and rehabilitation, can be addressed expeditiously.
The first claim submitted by the family’s attorney last year was not quantified. We advised the attorney to seek medical experts and an actuary to assess the child and submit a quantified claim.
At the end of May 2012, eight months since the accident, the family’s attorney submitted a quantified claim. We then immediately entered into discussion in June to settle the claim. But these discussions were not successful as the family rejected two settlement proposals. The attorney could not produce legal opinion to substantiate the higher demand.
The department requested that the claim be re-assessed by an independent team of medical and legal experts. The reason is that the department has a duty in terms of section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act that taxpayers’ money is spent in a responsible and prudent manner.
Since June, Lewis has seen the following independent experts commissioned by the department:
- Industrial psychologist
- Clinical psychologist
- Occupational therapist
- Prosthetist
- Educational psychologist
The next appointment for Lewis is with an Orthopaedic Surgeon and then an independent actuary will quantify the claim. This team will report before the end of August where upon the parties will reconvene to finalise the negotiations. This whole independent reassessment would have taken two months, as opposed to the eight months that it took the family to quantify their claim.
The department has unfortunately recently received a summons from the family of Lewis. This is an unfortunate development as it may have the effect of delaying the provision of financial support to Lewis.
However, the GDE is still committed to ensuring a speedy settlement of this matter and to ensure that the child gets the necessary resources to aid his on-going recuperation and rehabilitation.
Enquiries:
Charles Phahlane
Tel: 011 355 1530
Cell: 071 860 4496
