Road Accident Fund Attorneys

If you’ve submitted a claim to the Road Accident Fund (RAF), you might be wondering what happens next.

Due to a heavy case load, administrative issues affecting the Fund and the often complex nature of road accidents, RAF claims typically take a number of years to be resolved.

It’s good to familiarise yourself with the process that the RAF follows once it receives a claim so you know what to expect.

Registration and investigation of your claim: 120 days

Once the RAF has registered a claim on its system, it conducts an investigation to determine the claim’s validity.

It may require that your injuries be assessed by their chosen medical experts. It may also call for additional information and supporting documents.

The RAF is permitted a grace period of 120 days in which to conduct its investigation. No further procedural steps may be taken against them during this time.

Investigations are seldom completed within this time period.

However, once the grace period has elapsed, your attorney will issue a summons to inform the Fund that you intend to pursue your claim in court.

Navigating a settlement offer by the RAF

Once a claim has been investigated, the RAF may offer the claimant a settlement in the hope of resolving the matter out of court. This may occur at any point – often, only once preparations for a court case are already well underway.

A RAF settlement offer may be appealing. However, an initial offer may represent only a fraction of the amount you would be awarded in court.

To ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve, it’s important to have a qualified attorney represent and guide you. The attorney can assess what level of compensation is reasonable, based on the facts of your case and damages awarded by the courts in other, comparable cases.

The attorney can also negotiate on your behalf, to secure a more favourable settlement amount.

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DSC Attorneys specialises in ensuring that road accident victims get the compensation they deserve. We support each client’s right to justice by working on a no-win, no-fee basis. Contact us for expert assistance if you have a claim.

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Waiting for a court hearing date

If your claim can’t be settled through negotiation, it will go to court.

At present, a major cause of delays in RAF claims is waiting for available court dates. Because of backlogs, it can take from months to a number of years to secure a court hearing.

The time this takes will depend on the particular court that’s involved. This is because courts at different levels and in different geographic locations vary in the backlogs they’re experiencing.

Presenting a RAF claim in court

In court, your attorney will present evidence on your behalf. Medical specialists may also provide expert testimony to support the facts of your claim.

You may or may not be required to testify during the court proceedings.

Once your case has been heard in court, the appointed judge has sole discretion over what, if any, compensation is due to you.

Also, a judge may decide in favour of your claim but postpone the decision about how much should be awarded in damages to a separate, new court hearing (which again may involve a significant delay).

Payment of your claim by the RAF

Due to on-going cash flow challenges, the RAF presently has 180 days from the time a court order is issued to pay your claim, although strictly speaking in terms of the RAF Act, payment should be due within 14 days.

In practice, the RAF often misses this deadline. Sometimes payment is reasonably prompt. In other cases, claimants may experience delays as long as a year.

Waiting periods and delays that affect accident claims

Complex claims involving serious injuries can take anywhere from three to six years – sometimes even longer – to finalise.

Common causes for delays include:

  • difficulty obtaining supporting documents from third parties such as doctors, the police, witnesses and hospitals
  • dispute over the cause of an accident and who was responsible for it
  • dispute over the compensation to be granted to the claimant
  • long waits for court hearings (as discussed above) and lengthy court proceedings
  • in some cases, the age of the victim – for example, where a young child sustains mild to moderate brain injury in an accident, it might not be possible to determine the compensation due until the child reaches certain developmental milestones.

Why hire an attorney to assist with your claim

Hiring an attorney with experience in Road Accident Fund claims will give you the best chance of a successful claim.

At DSC Attorneys, we’re committed to ensuring you get the compensation you deserve. All our attorneys are highly experienced in personal injury law and offer many years of combined experience in handling Road Accident Fund claims.

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