By: Natasha Archary
Advocate Justin Erasmus, Chairperson of the Personal Injury Plaintiff Lawyers Association (PIPLA), is one of the legal experts who is crying foul over the proposed changes to the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Speaking to Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz, Adv. Erasmus says the fund is crucial to cover all South African road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
“Most of the road users that RAF covers is the poorest of the poor in the country, think about the people who spend hours and hours commuting in taxis and buses.
So, there’s a critical social function that RAF fulfills, in that it has to provide the social compensation that is necessary when you’ve had your life destroyed in a motor vehicle accident, particularly when you come from the most vulnerable road users.”
The Department of Transport gazetted a draft Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill, for public comment on 08 September, giving South Africans just 1-month to provide feedback on the proposed changes.
According to Adv. Erasmus 300 Personal Injury Lawyers are heavily against the bill, which seeks to move from a compensation model to a “benefits” model for those who are claiming.
“Currently, a claim for loss of income is paid out in a lump sum, under the new system claimants will receive annuity payments (partial) that will eventually equal the total sum they are supposed to receive.
There is also the qualification that the amount payable is subject to periodic review of the Fund’s liabilities and if a claimant dies before the full annuities are received, the payments will stop and their heirs will receive nothing.”
Advocate Justin Erasmus is against the proposed changes to the Road Accident Fund
Adv. Erasmus says the proposed bill goes beyond a reduction, and says it actually goes into an elimination and completely taking away your rights.
Other proposed changes to the Road Accident Fund include:
- Currently a victim is covered if injured by a negligent driver, irrespective of where the accident happens. Under the new system the accident must have taken place on a public road.
- Injuries suffered in motor vehicle accidents in parking areas, sports fields, farm roads, driveways, private estates, game reserves or any other private road will no longer be covered.
- Pedestrians crossing a highway are also specifically excluded.
- Claimants will not be covered if hit by an unidentified vehicle.
- Under the present system, so-called “hit and run” incidents are compensated, under the new system it won’t be.
- The proposed amendments don’t allow compensation for any person who is not a South African citizen or direct permanent resident.
- Changes also specifically exclude from compensation any driver, pedestrian or cyclist over the legally prescribed alcohol limit, regardless of who was at fault, as well as their dependents should they be killed.
- RAF will be able to recover expenditure from persons who have drunk alcohol even if they did not cause the accident that they were involved in.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
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