Student nearly died from heart attack after being electrocuted in London park
12 December 2024, 12:38
A student from Latvia nearly died after allegedly being electrocuted while posing for a photo in St. James’s Park.
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Anastasija Grigorjeva is taking legal action against Royal Parks after she says she was electrocuted and left with brain damage while posing for a photo in St James’s Park.
Ms Grigorjeva says she suffered a heart attack because her foot slipped through a grate, leaving her with brain damage, a three-month memory gap and lasting nerve damage in her foot.
Her sister Snezana and her sister’s boyfriend Vladlens Mazalevskis pulled her to safety, where he performed CPR before paramedics restarted her heart.
She spent three weeks in intensive care and “is still suffering memory loss”.
Ms Grigorjeva is a student at Daugavpils University in Latvia, and was visiting her sister in London for a holiday in July when the incident happened.
She claims an exposed wire was responsible for her being electrocuted, and her sister Snezana, 27, is helping her pursue legal action against Royal Parks.
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Snezana told the Standard: “We had just given my sister a Polaroid camera for her birthday and she wanted to take a photo on the metal grate in the park as it was lit up as it was after dark
“I suddenly heard my sister whimper and looked around and she was passed out on the floor and her foot was in the grate.
“At first I thought she might have broken her foot, but she wasn’t making a sound and she would have been screaming in agony if she had broken something.
“I touched her and felt a tingling in my hand and I shouted out that she was being electrocuted.”
Snezana called an ambulance and tried to find the paramedics that were rushing over to them, while her boyfriend performed CPR.
“My sister is my best friend and I was running around in a panic not knowing if she was alive or dead”, she said.
“My sister is still suffering memory loss and doesn’t remember anything from May to July this year. Sometimes she doesn’t remember yesterday and sometimes she can’t recall what happened in the morning. It is deeply affecting her life.
“She also can’t bend her foot properly which makes her really upset as she can’t walk properly.”
A Health and Safety Executive investigation did not result in anything, and Snezana added: “I was really unhappy about that as somebody needs to be held responsible for what happened to my sister.
“She was in a popular park in central London and this should never have been allowed to happen.”
Magdalena Knez, a specialist personal injury lawyer from Osbornes Law, said Ms Grigorjeva’s life has been “changed forever” because of the incident.
“Doctors said she was lucky to have survived the electric shock and her family are understandably angry that this was allowed to happen.
“I would urge the Royal Parks to admit liability in this matter as soon as possible so that my client can move on and start to rebuild her life.”
A Royal Parks spokesperson said: “We are sorry to confirm that an incident occurred in St James’s Park in the early hours of one weekend in July 2024, in which a woman was injured.
“Our thoughts remain with the person involved.
“The Health and Safety Executive was notified and has completed its investigation with the full cooperation of The Royal Parks and will not be taking any action.
“Whilst we are not able to comment on an individual legal case, we want to reassure the public that St James’s Park provides a safe environment for all.”
