KZN Attorneys Association ‘deeply concerned’ at proposed RAF changes
An attorneys
association in KZN says it's deeply concerned about proposed changes to the
Road Accident Fund draft amendment bill, gazetted by the transport minister,
calling it a major blow to crash victims.
The public has been given 30 days to comment.
It's voiced criticism and alarm over the bill, which the department says intends to prop up the struggling entity.
The RAF posted an R8.4 billion, deficit for the 2022/2023 financial year, and owes over R9.7bn to claimants.
The KZN Personal Injury Attorneys Association says the bill poses a grave threat to the rights of motor crash victims who can seek compensation for incidents on all South African roads.
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The association's Dave Campbell says - among other things - the amendments will remove the rights of drivers, passengers and pedestrians to make claims.
"You will receive nothing for general damages, you will not receive special damages and your medical expenses are kept to a tariff.
"The amount of the tariff is yet to be determined, but looking at the previous attempts to implement similar legislation, this will be based on a state hospital tariff effectively removing your right to obtain a private medical treatment unless you finance it yourself."
