Sting in tail in reef lawsuit

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Eilat Magistrates' Court has rejected a lawsuit against the city's famous Dolphin Reef by a woman who was stung by an eel during a visit to the reef, reports www.mynet.co.il. Judge Yoel Eden ruled that the assumption that the reef managers could or should have cleared the sea of marine animals or supervised their activities every minute was "unreasonable." According to the report, the case arose after the woman, her husband and their children visited the reef to see the dolphins several years ago. They were dangling their legs into the water from a bridge when the woman felt something bite or sting her. In their lawsuit, the woman and her husband claimed that reef managers were responsible for the injury as they had not warned the family of the possible dangers posed by sea life. They also said that after the injury, the husband asked the managers to help get his wife to a hospital, but they had only consented to call an ambulance several hours later. The report said the woman was treated for a sting at Yoseftal Hospital and was released after several hours. In response, reef managers said the incident had been sudden, unexpected and unavoidable, and had not been a result of any negligence on their part. They said the reef was part of the open sea and there was a "reasonable risk" that anyone going in the water could be injured by its inhabitants, and they did not bear any legal requirement to provide specific warnings about this. Eden agreed that the managers had not breached their obligations to take due care, and said the assumption that they should or could have cleared the sea of all marine creatures or supervised them at all times was not reasonable. As well as rejecting the claim, he also ordered the couple to pay NIS 2,000 in legal costs.