Go-kart track liable for damages in scalping case

A Cape Argus report says Andrea\'s waist-length hair became ensnared in an Indoor Grand Prix go-kart during a holiday outing with a friend on July 19, 2003, causing her scalp to be ripped from her head. Earlier Judge Roger Cleaver dismissed the claim by the girl’s father, Neil Katzeff, against Canal Walk the centre in which the company is situated, with costs, finding that the centre did not owe a ‘duty of care’ towards go-kart patrons. According to the attorney for Canal Walk, the court upheld the legal principle that ‘a landlord is not liable in delict for failing to ensure that his tenant took precautions to prevent damages to other arising from the tenant’s operations’. The actual amount to be paid to Katzeff, as compensation and damages, has yet to be determined. Indoor Grand Prix has since closed down. Full Cape Argus report

Katzeff was bitterly disappointed with the court\'s decision, especially in the light of the track’s owner, Wayne Yates, being ‘almost bankrupt and track closed on top of it’. He said in a report on the News24 site: ‘I feel we have won the battle, but lost the war. I believe the law should be made more accessible so that land owners should also be responsible if things go wrong on their property.’ He added that his legal team would study the ruling before deciding on their next step. Full report on the News24 site