You claim from the Road Accident Fund by lodging a completed RAF 1 form, together with your medical records and a police accident report, before the deadline that applies to your case. That deadline is three years from the date of the accident where the responsible driver is known, and only two years where the driver was never identified. The Fund then has a statutory period to investigate before your matter can go to court.
The RAF compensates people injured by someone else’s negligent driving on a South African road, funded by the levy built into every litre of fuel you buy. RAF matters fall under personal injury law. What follows is the full process, from working out if you qualify through to the paperwork, the waiting, and the deadlines that quietly end claims worth pursuing.
Who can claim from the Road Accident Fund
Almost anyone injured on a South African road by another person’s negligent driving can claim from the Road Accident Fund:
- Drivers and passengers can claim, and so can pedestrians.
- Cyclists and motorcyclists are covered on the same basis.
- The Fund treats citizens and foreign nationals alike, so a visitor injured on our roads has the same right to compensation as a resident.
- You can also claim as a dependant. Where a household’s income earner is killed in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the spouse and children who relied on that income can claim for loss of support, along with anyone else who was dependent.
A close relative who paid for the funeral can claim those costs back. Dependants’ claims sit within personal injury law and are calculated separately from the injured person’s own claim.
Drivers who caused an accident are in a narrower position. You cannot claim as the driver and owner of the vehicle solely responsible for the crash. A driver who is not the owner may still have a claim where the owner’s negligence contributed, such as a vehicle sent out with worn brakes. Partial fault does not disqualify you, though compensation is reduced in proportion to your share of the blame.
Who does not qualify
Single-vehicle accidents with no other party at fault fall outside the Fund. Driving into a tree or a wall, with nothing and nobody else contributing, leaves nothing to claim, because the claim depends on someone else’s negligence.
Damage to your vehicle is also excluded, since the Fund compensates bodily injury and death rather than property, though other areas of legal practice may still offer a route where a third party was at fault.
What injuries qualify for compensation
Any bodily injury caused by a negligent driver can support a claim for your actual financial losses. Medical bills and lost income are recoverable whatever the severity of the injury, provided you can prove the accident caused them.
Compensation for pain and suffering works differently. Since the 2008 amendments to the Road Accident Fund Act, general damages are paid only where your injury is classified as serious. A registered medical practitioner must assess you and complete a RAF 4 serious injury assessment report, working from the American Medical Association’s impairment guides.
The main threshold is 30% whole person impairment. An injury assessed at or above that level counts as serious. Traumatic brain injuries and paraplegia commonly reach it, as do some amputations. Falling below 30% does not end the enquiry, because the regulations provide a second route known as the narrative test.
Under the narrative test, an injury still qualifies as serious where it caused:
- long-term loss of a body function
- permanent serious disfigurement
- a severe long-term mental or behavioural disorder
- or the loss of an unborn child.
Many valid general damages claims are won on this route rather than on the impairment percentage, which is why the quality of the medical assessment matters. Disputed assessments are frequently resolved in court.
How much does the RAF pay for injuries
There is no fixed payout. Compensation is calculated for your specific losses under several separate heads, and the total turns on the severity of your injuries, their effect on your working life, and the cost of treatment still to come.
Past and future medical expenses cover treatment already received and care you will still require. Future costs are often dealt with by an undertaking certificate, where the Fund pays for qualifying treatment as it arises rather than handing over a lump sum.
Past and future loss of earnings covers income lost while unable to work and earning capacity permanently forfeited. This head is frequently the largest part of a claim, and a statutory cap applies to the annual income that can be claimed. The cap is revised quarterly for inflation and published in the Government Gazette, so the figure applying to you depends on when your claim is assessed.
General damages for pain and suffering, which includes loss of the amenities of life, are available only on a serious injury finding. Loss of support and funeral expenses apply in fatal cases. Because these calculations rest on actuarial and medical evidence rather than a tariff, two people with similar injuries can receive very different awards, which is why an attorney quantifies each head separately.
Documents you need to claim
The strength of your claim rests on the evidence you gather, and collecting it early is far easier than reconstructing it years later. You will generally need:
- a completed RAF 1 claim form
- a certified copy of your identity document
- the police accident report and case number
- hospital and medical records covering your treatment
- a sworn affidavit setting out how the accident happened
- statements from any witnesses
- receipts and accounts for medical expenses already paid
- payslips, an IRP5 or tax returns to prove your income
- a RAF 4 serious injury assessment report where general damages are claimed
- the death certificate, funeral account and proof of dependency in a fatal claim
Photographs of the scene and of your visible injuries are worth taking whenever someone is able to. Report the accident to the police within 24 hours where you can, since the police report underpins everything that follows. Where a document cannot be obtained, contact an attorney rather than delaying the claim.
How to lodge your claim step by step
Lodging is governed by section 24 of the Road Accident Fund Act, and the sequence matters. Follow these steps in order:
- Get medical treatment and report the accident. Attend a hospital or doctor even for injuries that seem minor, and open a police case so an accident report exists.
- Gather your supporting documents. Collect the medical records, police report, income proof and affidavits listed above.
- Complete the RAF 1 claim form. Set out your details, the accident, the parties involved and every head of damages you intend to claim.
- Undergo a serious injury assessment. Where you are claiming general damages, a medical practitioner completes the RAF 4 report.
- Lodge the claim with the RAF. Submit the form with all supporting documents and keep proof of lodgement together with your claim reference number.
- Wait out the statutory period. The Fund has 120 days from lodgement to consider the claim before a summons may be issued.
Leaving a head of damages out of the RAF 1 form causes real difficulty later, and our courts have dealt with several disputes about claims amplified after lodgement. Completing the form properly at the outset avoids that argument once proceedings begin.
How long does an RAF claim take
Longer than most people expect. The Fund has 120 days after lodgement to investigate before you may issue summons, so nothing can be forced for roughly four months no matter how clear your case is. A straightforward claim with clean evidence may settle within a year or two of lodgement.
Litigated claims take considerably longer. Where the Fund disputes liability or the value of your damages, the matter proceeds to summons and then to a trial date, and court rolls in the busier divisions are heavily congested. Claims running several years from accident to payment are common, and matters in the Gauteng Division at Pretoria are no exception.
Settlement offers often arrive during this period. An early offer is tempting when you are out of work and medical accounts are mounting, though the amount is sometimes a fraction of what the claim is worth once future loss of earnings is properly calculated. Getting the offer assessed before you accept is the difference between a settlement and a shortfall.
How do I check my RAF money
Your claim reference number is the key to any status enquiry. The RAF operates a call centre and a customer services email address, and it can confirm the stage your claim has reached and any payment authorised. Have your reference number and accident date ready when you make contact.
Claimants with legal representation should ask their attorney first, since the firm receives correspondence and settlement offers directly from the Fund. Payments are made into the trust account of the attorney of record, who then accounts to you. Regular written updates are a reasonable expectation.
Deadlines that end claims before they start
Prescription is the single greatest risk to a valid claim. Where the driver responsible is identified, you have three years from the date of the accident to lodge. Where the driver was never identified, in a hit-and-run for example, that window shrinks to two years and cannot be extended. Knowing which deadline applies is one of the first things an attorney will confirm.
Minors are treated differently, and a claim on behalf of a child does not prescribe on the ordinary timeline, so families sometimes have more time than they assume. The rules are technical enough that a child’s claim warrants specific advice rather than guesswork.
The risk is not theoretical. The KwaZulu-Natal High Court recently held a law firm liable for professional negligence after it allowed a severely injured teenager’s RAF claim to lapse and then misled the family for years about it. Prescription cannot be undone once it has run, so the protection is lodging early and instructing a firm that keeps you informed.
Why a personal injury attorney improves your chances
The RAF process is administratively heavy and adversarial in a way that catches self-represented claimants out. An experienced practitioner knows which heads of damages apply, appoints the right medical and actuarial experts, and quantifies future loss rather than accepting the Fund’s first assessment of it. That quantification is usually where the real value of a personal injury claim sits.
Representation also protects you at the two points where claims are most often lost. The first is lodgement, where an incomplete RAF 1 form or a missed prescription date ends everything. The second is settlement, where an offer needs measuring against what a court would award.
SB Lawyers has handled personal injury matters, including RAF claims, for more than two decades from its offices in Pretoria and Nelspruit, alongside the workplace injury and medical negligence work that sits beside them. If you or a family member has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact the personal injury team for an assessment of your claim while the evidence and the deadlines are still on your side.