What The Road Accident Fund compensates you for
Purpose of the RAF
The Road Accident Fund was established by the RAF Act with the purpose of ensuring that all road users, who are injured due to the negligent driving of others, have access to compensation for their injuries. As not all persons in South Africa are able to afford insurance against injuries or becoming disabled, either for themselves or someone they might injure, the State created the RAF to assist in such situations. The RAF gets its funds from a special levy that is added to the fuel price. Therefore a percentage of money for every liter of petrol that is poured into your car goes towards the fund. Essentially every driver thus contributes to the Fund in a small way each time they purchase petrol.
Injuries or Losses covered by the RAF:
The RAF provides compensation following bodily injuries, either resulting in the need for medical care, loss of income or loss of support where a breadwinner has died. These different parts of a claim are broadly divided into 3 “sections” and also referred to as Heads of Damages. The values of these different Heads and what can be proven by the claimant are what determines the value of a person’s claim.
To read more:
- https://www.raf.co.za/Product-and-Services/Pages/Compensate.aspx
- https://www.raf.co.za/Pages/Default.aspx
Past and future expenses
- a) Medical expenses
You may claim all your proven past and future medical expenses from the RAF. The medical expenses must be directly related to the injuries sustained in the accident. If the medical expenses are not related to the injuries sustained in the accident, the RAF will not be liable to compensate you. Only proven medical expenses will be compensated. You will have to furnish the RAF with proof of all your medical expenses that you incurred to date as a result of the accident.
Future expenses: You may also claim your expected future medical treatment costs from the RAF, if it is proven that such future treatment costs is likely. This is done by way of medical recommendations in the form of medico-legal reports, where specialists set out the treatment required as well as the expected costs thereof. The RAF will issue you with a certificate called a Section 17(4) Undertaking (this is a type of contract) that will enable you to receive future medical treatment. This subject to the terms of the undertaking as well as the injuries proven by way of the medical reports.
- b) Related or ancillary expenses
Much the same as with medical expenses, certain expenses may have to be incurred such as alterations to a home to make it wheelchair accessible or the purchase of special equipment. These are all types of expenses that are necessary for an injured person to function, but would not necessarily fall under a medical expense.
In these instances, the recommendations would also have to be related to the injuries sustained and be based on the professional opinions of specialists and set out in their reports.
- c) Funeral expenses
The RAF is liable to compensate the person who was law responsible to pay for the funeral expenses of a person killed in a motor vehicle accident. The claimant would have to submit the proof of payment to the RAF.
The RAF only pays for the following:
- Transportation of the deceased body;
- Provision of the coffin or burial shroud;
- Preparation of the deceased body (including embalming);
- Storage of the deceased body;
- Arranging for issuing of a death certificate;
- Burial or cremation of the deceased body;
- The hiring of equipment to lower the coffin into the grave; and
- Grave fees.
The costs would cover that of a basic funeral such as the casket and burial (internment) as set out above. Costs of accommodation for family, food and refreshments are not generally included. The following is excluded:
- Catering;
- Flowers;
- Tombstone;
- Family transport; and
- Funeral programs.
- Past and future loss income or loss of support by a dependent
If a person (the breadwinner in the family) is killed in a motor vehicle accident and the dependent of the breadwinner may claim from the RAF his/her proven past and future loss of support. There is a cap (limit) on this amount. The dependant is often referred to as a third party. (The First party is the RAF, the Second party is the driver, the Third-party is the claimant).
If the Third-party claim arose on or after 1 August 2008 (the claim arises on the date of death of the breadwinner) the RAF’s liability to compensate the loss is limited to a prescribed cap (R 160 000 at 1 August 2008). The cap is adjusted quarterly to take into account inflation. If the third-party claim arose prior to the aforementioned date no cap applies to the claim for loss of income.
The recently updated figures are discussed in our article The Road Accident Fund limit on claims for loss of income
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/road-accident-funds-double-amount-claimants-can-claim-2020-2
- General damages
This relates to damages for pain and suffering and loss of comforts of life that you have suffered due to the injury that you suffered as a result of the motor vehicle accident.
General damages are only awarded on situations where a person has suffered severe injuries such as permanent disability, loss of a fetus etc.
It is a requirement that an injured person qualifies for general damages only if their injuries are considered to be beyond a Whole Peron Impairment rating of 30%. This is determined by specialists using a guide allocating percentages to certain injuries.
If you have a RAF Claim – contact us or read more.
We have a number of interesting articles regarding the RAF: