RAF wins court bid to reduce R11m claim after evidence shows victim had minor injuries

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) says it is pleased with a Limpopo High Court decision to reduce an R11 million claim to only R800 000.

This comes after the court found that the claimant who was representing her young daughter and her lawyers had exaggerated the injuries through contradictory medical reports.

“Handing down his judgment, Judge E Mashamba decreased the amount to R800 000 after the court found disparities in the medical specialists’ reports,” RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo said.

Victim sustained minor injuries

Letsoalo said the court decided that the child’s injuries were minor and unlikely to adversely impact her school performance, or future loss of earnings.

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“The only information the court found credible was that of the clinical psychologist, who stated the child has post traumatic disorder and psychosocial problems,” he said.

According to Letsoalo, the child was four years old at the time of the accident. She was rushed to the clinic on the day of the accident by the driver of the car that hit her and was discharged on the same day.

“The court found these problems probably only have a slight effect on the child’s future income,” he said.

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Letsoalo said based on the judgment, it is abundantly clear that lawyers who represented the claimant recommended and guided the mother for the child to be sent to many specialists, despite the injuries being minor.

“This is a common problem for the RAF. Most legal practitioners attempt to extract as much cash as possible from the state entity, an unethical and sometimes criminal practice that affects the RAF and is grossly unfair to other claimants,” Letsoalo said.

He said the fund would not apportioning criminal blame to the law firm that represented the woman.

“They should nevertheless be ashamed of themselves for creating expectations to the mother that she was in for a huge cash windfall. The disparity between the R11 million and R800 000 is proof enough that there was probably unethical conduct involved,” he said.