A university student nearly died when she was electrocuted while posing for a photo in one of London’s premier parks.
Anastasija Grigorjeva, 21, says she suffered a heart attack and collapsed when her foot slipped through a grate in St James’s Park in July.
Ms Grigorjeva was pulled to safety by her sister Snezana and her sister’s boyfriend, before paramedics arrived at the scene and managed to restart her heart.
The incident happened when Ms Grigorjeva, a physiotherapy student at Daugavpils University in her native Latvia, was visiting her sister in London for a holiday.
She spent three weeks in hospital in intensive care, suffered brain damage and has been left with a three-month gap in her memory, and she also has lasting nerve damage in her foot.
The student has now hired the services of solicitors from Osbornes Law to seek compensation from the Royal Parks charity which manages St James’s Park.
It is alleged an exposed wire was responsible for electrocuting Ms Grigorjeva as they stopped to take a Polaroid photo at a lit-up metal grate in the park.
Snezana, 27, who lives in Wimbledon, is helping her sister to bring legal action, and says she recalls the moment her sister suddenly collapsed.
“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”, she said.
“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 and her boyfriend Vladlens Mazalevskis pulled Ms Grigorjeva to safety, saving her life, and he then began performing CPR. Snezana, meanwhile, called an ambulance and tried to locate the paramedics rushing to the park.
“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 lead to any further action, 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”.
“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 co-operation 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.”
