Road Accident Fund Claims
The Road Accident Fund was established to compensate victims who suffered damages in or as result of motor vehicle accidents that occurred on South African roads. The fund is a form of statutory insurance and is financed by a fuel levy.
In order for you to claim, the accident must have been caused either due to the fault of the driver or the owner of the motor vehicle involved. You will not be entitled to claim if you were the sole cause of the accident.
Who Can Claim
If you have sustained serious injuries or a family member has died as a result of a motor vehicle accident, you may have a claim against the Road Accident Fund.
You will be able to claim if you or the deceased were either a driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist at the time of the accident.
Road Accident Fund claims are available to all individuals including claimants who are not South African citizens.
What Can You Claim
There are two categories of claims namely injury claims and death claims. Each of these two categories have different heads of damages.
The following table sets out the two categories of claims and the damages one can claim for under each:
| Injury Claims |
|---|
|
1. Past medical expenses |
|
2. Future medical expenses |
|
3. Past loss of income |
|
4. Future loss of income |
|
5. General damages |
| Death Claims |
|---|
|
1. Past loss of support |
|
2. Future loss of support |
|
3. Funeral expenses |
Claim Process
Road Accident Fund legislation is constantly changing and can be extremely complex. There are various statutory requirement to comply with and documents that need to be provided in order to claim.
There are also strict time limits to observe, firstly when lodging a claim and secondly when action needs to be instituted (“summons process”), if a settlement cannot be reached.
The onus is on the claimant to prove that the accident was caused due the fault of another. The claimant must then further prove what damages were sustained and the quantum thereof.
Even though the Road Accident Fund encourages claimants to approach them directly, this is not always in the claimant’s best interests. We therefore advise all claimants to always consult an attorney should they wish to pursue a claim.
“The firm you need, for the results you want…”