Road Accident Fund 'abused'

Johannesburg - The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is being abused leaving road accident victims in the lurch, said RoadCover which assists victims of road accidents claim compensation from the fund.

CEO Eugene Beck said on Wednesday many accident victims received only a fraction of the amount paid out by the RAF.

The interests of motor accident victims and the taxpayers who ultimately fund the RAF are not always best protected by attorneys, he said in a statement.

"Most lawyers representing claimants from the RAF enter into risk sharing agreements (or contingency fee arrangements) with the knowledge that they will receive a percentage of the final settlement.

"Inevitably, some of these lawyers try to push for the highest possible payout, which forces the RAF to defend these claims in court, thereby clogging up the system and leading to lengthy delays in claim settlements."

According to Beck, as the RAF was funded by a levy imposed on the price of fuel, it was taxpayers who ultimately bore the cost of the over-inflated claims.

"In addition, because of the lengthy court process, the legal fees usually end up consuming a large portion of the final claim paid to the victims, who are then left with less than they would have received had the claim been settled out of court for a more equitable amount."

Beck said the criticism that the fund did not have adequate resources was also somewhat unfair.

"If we could eliminate all of the spurious claims against the RAF, then I believe that the fund would be capable of protecting seriously injured victims with its current resources."

- Sapa