Court blow for RAF

FINDING: SPECIAL PLEA IN RESPONSE TO APPLICATIONS BY 16 CLAIMANTS

- Roy Cokayne Moneyweb

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has received another legal setback, with a high court judgment dismissing with costs the fund's special plea - and ruling that the RAF is not entitled to reject claims that substantially comply with Section 24 of the Road Accident Fund Act.

The special plea was in response to applications by 16 claimants whose claims submitted on different dates were rejected by the RAF because they did not comply with RAF board notice 271 of 2022 and the new RAF 1 form.

In a judgment handed down in the Eastern Circuit High Court in Thembalethu last week, Acting Judge SST Kholong found that all 16 claims substantially comply with Section 24 of the Act and thus substantially comply with the procedural requirements for a validly lodged claim in this section of the act.

Kholong further ruled that the lodged documents for the 16 claimants provided the RAF with sufficient information to enable the fund to investigate and consider the claims.