Woman (21) injured as object falls on her head at local mall
A 21-year-old woman is considering taking legal action against Lakeside Mall, if they don't cover her medical expenses - after a smoke extraction louvre fell on her head at the mall on December 12.
Roxanne da Silva sustained severe head injuries in the incident.
The Rynfield resident said she was at the shopping centre with a friend to have breakfast.
“As we were about to go up the escalators outside CNA, a metal grid weighing more than 10kg fell from the roof and hit me on the head,” said Roxanne.
It’s alleged that the object fell from a height of about three storeys.
Roxanne said the cut in her head was so deep, that her scalp was visible.
She was transported to the Netcare Linmed Hospital, where she was treated.
According to her mother, Lindy da Silva, Lakeside Mall paid the initial medical expenses on the day of the incident, when her daughter went for stitches.
“On the same day, Dion Kreusch (Lakeside Mall’s operations manager) came to the hospital,” said the mother.
“Dion gave us his number and said we could contact him, should we need any further assistance.”
She said her daughter was discharged from hospital after getting stitches, but suffered from “terrible headaches and nausea” the next day.
Roxanne returned to hospital, after which the mall’s management was contacted and asked to pay the additional medical expenses, as her daughter is not on medical aid.
According to Lindy, the management said they weren’t responsible for paying the additional expenses, after the first hospitalisation.
“We did pay her initial medical expenses as a gesture of goodwill from our side, given that we felt it to be an emergency situation – and the mother had informed us that they did not have any medical aid,” said Chantell Roemer, general manager at Lakeside Mall.
“The matter has now been handed over to insurers, for further investigation.”
Lindy is insisting the mall pay all the medical expenses.
Roxanne said she’s in a lot of pain, her head is swollen and she’s suffering from nausea and severe headaches, but that she’s grateful to be alive.
She’s currently out of hospital.
“We would like to assure our customers that the safety and security of shoppers at the mall is of paramount importance – and we’re conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident,” said Roemer.
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