Cape Town - Imagine you lose a limb in a car accident, or you are left brain-damaged, can never work again and the maximum benefit you can claim from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is only R280 000 per annum?
Even this amount is not guaranteed, this may be the reality for many South Africans if a draft bill on the new workings and name change to the RAF is passed by Parliament. Personal injury lawyers are spitting fire and claim the move is an attempt by the government to get its hands on the estimated R40billion that the RAF collects annually from the fuel levy.
The proposed legislation will soon be discussed in the National Assembly and claims by several attorneys were strengthened this week when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government plans to use money from the Government Employees Pension Fund to stock up its empty coffers.
Weekend Argus spoke to personal injury lawyers who are in agreement that there is “no thinking” behind many of the proposed changes.
Under the proposed legislation, the RAF will become the Road Accident Benefit Scheme and payouts will be capped at R280 000 per annum. People who are involved in car accidents would no longer be able to claim against the guilty parties and guilty motorists would get the same benefits as innocent victims.
Benefits would only be paid to persons between the ages of 18 to 60 years. If you are unemployed or unable to prove an income, your claim will be limited to the Annual Average National Income, currently R52 000 per year, (R4333 per month, which is subject to 25% personal income tax). This applies to students about to embark on a career and/or children when they reach the age of 18, regardless of the value of the real earning capacity destroyed.