Truck Accident Injury Claims in South Africa

A spate of truck accidents in South Africa has, once again, drawn attention to the dire state of road safety in our country.

Of all road accidents, truck accidents tend to result in the most fatalities and serious injuries, and the greatest damage to property.

In this article, we look at:

• truck accident injury claims
• truck accidents in South Africa
• what to do if you or a family member is in a truck accident
• reporting an accident if you’re a driver
• how to protect yourself legally
• claiming compensation for a truck accident.

Truck accident injury claims

Anyone injured in a truck accident that they weren’t solely responsible for causing can claim compensation from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

Types of compensation, also known legally as heads of damage, you can potentially claim include the following:

• past hospital and medical expenses
• past loss of earnings
• future hospital, medical and supplementary expenses
• future loss of earnings and interference with earning capacity
• general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.

If a family breadwinner is killed in a truck accident, it’s possible to claim for loss of support and financial compensation for funeral expenses.

Truck accidents in South Africa

Unfortunately, truck accidents are a daily occurrence in South Africa. Over a five-year period, there were 2,237 fatal truck crashes on our roads. That’s an average of 1.2 per day.

In a study by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), heavy load vehicles (with a mass above 3,500 kg) accounted for 9.4% of all fatal crashes on South African roads.

It’s not just truck drivers and the occupants of other vehicles who are at risk. A 2023 RTMC study found that over a five-year period, more than one third of all fatal truck-related crashes in South Africa involved pedestrians.

What to do if you or a family member is in a truck accident

If you’re injured in a truck accident, stay calm and get medical attention as soon as possible.

If you’re involved in any road accident as a driver, stop your vehicle, assist anyone who’s injured (including calling for emergency assistance) and report the accident to the police.

Reporting an accident as a driver

You’re legally required to report a road accident immediately if anyone has been injured or killed.

If the accident has caused damage only to property, you can report it at a local police station within 24 hours.

When reporting a road accident, ensure that you obtain an accident reference number.

Steps to take to protect yourself legally

If you’re involved in a truck accident in South Africa, try to record specific information immediately.

This is so you can provide a full report if required by an insurer or for legal purposes. For example, record:

• information about the accident, including what happened, when and where
• contact details and ID numbers of people involved, of the relevant trucking company and of any witnesses
• details of the truck driver’s or truck company’s insurers
• details of the vehicles involved in the accident, including make, model and registration numbers
• the name, staff number and station of a traffic police officer at the accident scene.

If possible, use your cell phone to take photographs of the accident scene, showing the sides of the vehicles, their relative positions and the extent of any damage that has been caused.

Avoid unintentionally admitting liability (for example, by saying “sorry”) or signing any documents you’re handed at the accident scene.

Any road collision is traumatic, but avoid drinking alcohol or taking drugs after an accident. As well as compromising your credibility and ability to think straight, these could be dangerous if you’re in shock or injured.

Also, it’s possible that after an accident, you might be required to submit to a blood alcohol test. It could be impossible to prove that alcohol or drugs you took to calm your nerves after an accident weren’t already in your system when the accident occurred.