Tarquin Julius v Peter McKenzie t/a Peter McKenzie Attorneys

The plaintiff was shot in the face by a SAPS member in December 2008, losing his right eye and suffering severe impairment and eventual blindness in his left eye. He mandated Masimla Attorneys to sue the Minister of Police, but they failed to issue summons timeously and the claim prescribed. He then instructed the defendant attorney to sue Masimla Attorneys for professional negligence; the defendant also failed to act timeously, causing that claim to prescribe. The defendant was held liable on the merits for damages the plaintiff could prove flowing from the shooting. The present proceedings concerned only the quantification of general damages.

The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff R4 348 735 (being the total damages awarded less an interim payment), together with interest at the prescribed rate and taxed party-and-party costs, including expert witness fees.

The case illustrates the assessment of general damages for blindness in South African law and confirms the approach to comparable awards, inflation, and judicial discretion. It also reinforces principles governing attorney professional negligence where a practitioner is liable to the extent of the client’s lost claim.