How to claim from the Road Accident Fund

You claim from the Road Accident Fund by lodging a completed claim form, with medical and police documents attached, at an RAF office. If the driver who caused the accident was identified, you generally have three years from the date of the accident to lodge. If it was a hit and run, or the driver was never identified, you have only two years, and that shorter deadline is applied strictly.

The Fund is set up by the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996. It compensates people who are injured, and the dependants of people who are killed, in road accidents caused by the negligent driving of another road user. It is funded by the fuel levy, so every time you fill up you are paying into it.

Start with the deadline

Nothing else matters if you miss the date.

• Identified driver: lodge within three years of the accident.
• Unidentified driver, including a hit and run: lodge within two years of the accident.

Lodging in time is not the end of it. A lodged claim still has to be taken further, and a summons generally has to be issued within five years of the accident date. If your claim has been sitting with the Fund for years with no movement, treat that as urgent, not as patience.

Time runs differently for children. A minor's claim generally does not start running until they turn 18, so a parent who missed the deadline for a child is often not out of options. If you are unsure where you stand, our prescription checker will walk you through the dates.

Who can claim

You can claim if you were injured because someone else drove negligently. That includes:

• drivers and motorcyclists injured by another road user
• passengers, including passengers in the vehicle that caused the accident
• pedestrians and cyclists
• dependants of a breadwinner who was killed, for the support they have lost
• whoever paid for the funeral

If you were solely at fault for the accident, you cannot claim general damages for your own injuries. If you were partly at fault, your compensation is usually reduced in proportion to your share of the blame rather than refused outright.

Passengers have the strongest position of anyone, and it surprises people. Read Can I claim if I was a passenger in a car accident? if that is you.

What the RAF pays for

Broadly, four things:

1. Past and future medical expenses. Future treatment is usually covered by an undertaking, which is a written promise by the Fund to pay for that treatment when you actually need it, rather than a cash amount now.
2. Past loss of earnings while you were off work.
3. Future loss of earnings or earning capacity, if the injury has permanently changed what you can do for a living.
4. General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities of life, but only where the injury is assessed as serious.

It does not pay for damage to your vehicle. That is what your own short-term insurance is for, or a civil claim against the other driver. If your insurer has turned you down, see My insurance claim was rejected. What can I do?.

The serious injury test for general damages

General damages are only payable if your injury is assessed as serious using the process prescribed under the Act. A registered medical practitioner examines you and completes the prescribed serious injury assessment report. The Fund then decides whether it accepts that the injury qualifies. If it does not, there is a dispute process through an appeal tribunal.

This is why two people with what sounds like the same accident can end up with very different outcomes. It turns on the medical evidence, not on how bad the crash looked.

Documents you will need

Start collecting these immediately, because the older an accident gets, the harder they are to obtain:

• the police accident report and the case number (an OB or CAS number)
• your ID and, if you were driving, your licence
• hospital records, ambulance records and any medical reports
• proof of income: payslips, an employer letter, or bank statements if you are self-employed
• receipts for anything you have paid out of pocket
• names and contact numbers of witnesses
• photographs of the scene, the vehicles and your injuries
• for a fatal claim, the death certificate and proof that you depended on the deceased

Write down your own account of what happened while it is fresh. Memory fades and your statement may be tested years later.

Lodging the claim

You can lodge yourself. The RAF accepts claims directly from the public at its regional offices and hospital service points, and it costs nothing to do so. You complete the claim form, attach a medical report completed by the treating practitioner, attach your supporting documents, and lodge them. Keep a stamped copy of everything and keep your claim number somewhere safe.

If you use an attorney, they lodge on your behalf and usually work on a contingency basis, meaning no fee unless you succeed. Read How does no win no fee work in South Africa? before you sign anything, because that agreement has to be in writing and there are legal caps on what can be charged.

What happens next

The Fund investigates the merits, which means whether the other driver was negligent, and then quantum, which means what your losses are worth. Expect medico-legal examinations by specialists. Expect the process to take years rather than months. How long does a RAF claim take? sets out the realistic stages.

Nobody, including us, can tell you upfront what your claim is worth. It depends on your injuries, your earnings and the expert evidence. Our RAF claim range calculator gives illustrative bands only, so you have a rough sense of scale, not a prediction.

If you cannot afford advice, Legal Aid South Africa can be reached on 0800 110 110.