UPDATE: Pretoria ‘hero teen’ seeks compensation

Mother of burn survivor Sean Smith, 17, is seeking compensation for her son’s suffering.

Mé-Lissa Smith claims her son was an employee of a garden service, and was on duty when he sustained second- and third-degree burn wounds on October 17, 2016, Rekord Centurion reported.

Smith said her son was not to blame and should be compensated.

Sean suffered serious burn wounds when his shirt caught fire after he helped a stranded woman with her car.

A claim was submitted to the garden services’ insurance company, but compensation was denied.

Smith said her son was unable to pursue any studies or get a job at the moment.

“I am a single mother, and things are not going well. Sean was on duty when it happened, why can’t he be compensated for what he went through?” Smith asked.

The compensation claim was denied by the financial institution that investigated the matter.

Its report on the matter was: “That was after he cleaned his hands, which were full of oil, after inspecting the oil leak on the gearbox of the vehicle. He used his black T-shirt which he drenched in petrol. He put his petrol and oil contaminated T-Shirt back on before he got into the vehicle. He himself then lit his own lighter and the fumes from his T-shirt in the concealed cab of the vehicle were set alight and the tragic events followed.”

One Insurance financial services spokesperson Rene van Coller said: “While our investigations indicate that there is no legal liability on the part of our insured, we can confirm that we have already invited Mé-Lissa Smith and her representative to a without-prejudice meeting in order that the matter can be discussed.”

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– Caxton News Service

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