A woman trips on a broken paving brick in Camps Bay. She suffers a serious knee injury. She takes the City of Cape Town to court. And she loses. The Western Cape High Court judgment in Schaefer versus the City of Cape Town has just redefined what it takes to hold a municipality legally accountable. And the implications go far beyond one pavement in Camps Bay. Potholes. Collapsed buildings. Uninspected tuck shops. Understaffed clinics. Who is responsible when municipalities fail, and what does the law actually say? Legal expert Thabo Masombuka is here to break it down.