A Capetonian grandmother is suing a British-based strip group, The Dreamboys, after reportedly sustaining a permanent eye injury during one of its shows when a stripper’s pants hit her in the eye as he was throwing off his clothes.
Merle Groenewald, a 58 year old Brackenfell resident is attempting to sue the company for an estimated £150 000 – about R2.7-million.
According to reports by UK tabloid The Sun, Groenewald has gone to British courts to settle the matter and the case is scheduled for a three-day trial with unconfirmed dates.
The incident took place in 2014 when Groenewald was on a visit to London. She and her friends were on a girls’ night out in town and went to a club called Rise, where there was a raunchy fireman-themed performance.
It was during the show that one performer flung off his pants into the crowd, which allegedly struck Groenewald in the eye.
According to the UK Mirror, she told the British court that she then had to be rushed to hospital.
Mark Mulrooney, a UK-based attorney, told The Sun that Groenewald sustained a serious injury to her left eye.
“She suffered a severe blunt injury to her left eye which caused her to require surgery. She has lost useful vision in her left eye and suffered a temporary injury to her right eye,” he said.
Groenewald’s decision to take legal action against The Dreamboys was based on her belief that the company “failed to ensure that there was sufficient space between the performers and the audience, so as to ensure that the performance could be carried out safely”.
Reports by The Sun state that Groenewald had been sitting in the front row during the show, “with her knees touching the stage.”
The Dreamboys has allegedly denied that it was to blame for the accident because it was “not reasonably foreseeable”.
Greoenwald told the newspaper Rapport that she will not be commenting on the case.
“Go look for my advocate yourself. Everyone has called, it’s everywhere on the news. I am not going to say anything,” she said.
Picture: The Dreamboys, Facebook