When lodging a Road Accident Fund claim, the Road Accident Fund states that the claim must be substantially compliant.
The essence of substantial compliance is the necessity of the RAF to accept a claim that is lodged at its offices. The claim must substantially comply with the procedural requirements of section 24(1-4) of the Road Accident Fund Act to be valid in law and the Fund must accept that it indeed complies with the said requirements. It refers to the prescribed minimum information that must be furnished to the RAF with lodgement of the claim in order for the claim to be valid.
If a claim does not comply with the procedural requirements as set out in section 24 of the Road Accident Fund Act it would be regarded as an invalid claim. The lodgement of an invalid claim does not interrupt prescription. Prescription will therefore continue to run until the outstanding information, as requested, is furnished to the RAF. Only then will prescription be interrupted.
The RAF1 form serves as a basis for third party claim to be lodged at the RAF. If the claim is not contained on the RAF1 form the claim would be regarded as invalid. Practically this means that the RAF1 form must be completed and lodged at the Fund in order for the claim to be valid.
Section 24(1)(a) indicates that a claim for compensation and the accompanying medical report under section 17(1) shall be set out on a prescribed form which shall be completed in all its particulars.
The documents that need to accompany the RAF 1 claim form:
-The statutory medical report completed by the first treating doctor or by the superintendent of the hospital where the injured/deceased was treated.
- Certified copy of claimant’s identity document / passport (if claimant is a foreign national)
- Accident report and cas docket
- Section 19(f) affidavit enclosing how the accident occurred
- Copies of medical records, x-rays and hospital notes
- Copy of payslips
- Copy of death certificate, post mortem report (for loss of support claims)
It is essential that you are substantially compliant when lodging a Road Accident Fund claim, as failure to do so can result in your claim prescribing. Once a claim prescribes you lose your right to claim.
At Campbell Attorneys we have a team of legal experts, who are Road Accident Fund specialists who have the skills and expertise to ensure that claims lodged are substantially compliant as per the requirements prescribed by the Road Accident Fund Act.
