Game lodge settles with elephant victim

Pretoria - A North West game lodge has settled a lawsuit by a man gored by an elephant just as the matter was about to come before the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday.

Andrew Falcon had demanded R300 000 from Three Cities Management Ltd, Madikwe River Lodge (Pty) Ltd and Madikwe River Lodge Management Ltd.

The nature of the settlement or value of the settlement between the two parties was not disclosed.

Falcon said afterwards: "I am happy with the terms of the settlement. It is the first small step in addressing shortcomings in the eco-tourism hospitality industry, which is what I wanted to achieve."

In papers submitted to the court, Falcon alleged the lodge's emergency medical procedures were so poor that he had to wait almost five hours before he could be evacuated for medical attention.

The lodge claimed Falcon signed an indemnity form in which he "consented to the risks inherent in game drives and warranted that he was aware of such risks" and ultimately "any rights which he might otherwise have had to hold any of the defendants liable" in the event of an accident.

Falcon was gored in his right leg by an angry elephant as he sat in the back of a game viewing vehicle in March 2007. He was thrown off the vehicle and had run to another game viewing vehicle as the vehicle in which he was sitting drove off.

Escape route

Falcon claimed the game ranger was negligent because he switched off his vehicle while viewing the elephants and failed to ensure he had an escape route should an elephant attack.

An expert's report submitted to the court stated that the lodges had failed to implement their medical evacuation plan. Falcon had to wait almost five hours for definitive medical treatment.

The expert, Jan Kriel, said in his report the game ranger had failed to detect the distressed state of the elephants who were alarmed at the presence of a vehicle so close to them.

He noted that the game ranger did not have a rifle with him at the time. He described him as being "grossly negligent" in his duties as a ranger.

The lodge, in its responding papers, denied negligence.

The case was about to start on Friday when a settlement was reached.

Falcon's lawyer Bisessar Badal said the parties signed a confidentiality agreement.

"Falcon will now approach the standard bearers in the eco-tourism industry in an effort to highlight aspects of tourist safety and the standards of field guide training," he added.

- SAPA