A Road Accident Fund claim, also known as a third party claim, is a claim which can be instituted to recover compensation on behalf of any person who suffered damage as a result of bodily injury to themselves, or bodily injury or death of another as a result of a motor vehicle collision. Parties who can claim are:

• A party who sustains bodily injuries in a Motor Vehicle Accident.
• When a breadwinner of a family is killed then the surviving spouse and the children are the persons who suffered damage by way of the loss of the financial support of the breadwinner.
• Where a minor is injured and has to receive medical treatment. In this case the parent would be the claimant in respect of the medical cost incurred because they would have had to pay for such costs and therefore suffered damages. The minor would be the claimant in respect of the bodily injuries he/she sustained.

What Is The Road Accident Fund?
The Road Accident Fund is a statutory body established by law to administer the system of compensation for damages suffered due to bodily injury or death caused by the negligent driving of a motor vehicle. Think of it as the insurance company for the driver in the wrong.

Who May Claim Against The Road Accident Fund?
Any person who has suffered damage owing to bodily injury to him or herself or to the death or bodily injury of someone else, may claim compensation provided the following can be established.
• That their damages were caused by the driving of a motor vehicle.
• That the motor vehicle was negligently driven.
• That the bodily injury or death resulted from a motor vehicle collision.

Examples of people who may claim are:
• Pedestrian negligently knocked down by a motorist.
• Passenger in a motor vehicle negligently driven.
• Passenger or driver in a motor vehicle struck by another vehicle which was negligently driven.

Note: A person who is solely responsible for their own injury does not have a claim, however a person whose injuries were caused partly by his own fault and partly by the fault of another motorist is entitled to compensation. (Although the compensation will be apportioned, in other words reduced).

Examples of categories of damages that arose from bodily injuries are:
• Past & future medical & hospital expenses.
• Past & future loss of earnings
• Past & future travelling expenses to obtain essential medical treatment.
• The cost of medical treatment and medication.
• The cost of employing domestic servants, nurses or assistants as a result of the injury sustained.
• General damages (an amount for pain, suffering, inconvenience, disfigurement and loss of the amenities of life).

Examples of categories of damages arising from death:
• Loss of maintenance or support.
• Funeral costs (limited).

Road Accident Fund claims are a complex field of law and to ensure you recover everything you are entitled to you should ensure that your matter is dealt with by a specialist personal injury law firm such as ours.

Prescription
The claim must be lodged with the Road Accident Fund within three years of the date upon which the collision occurred. Summons must be served within five years of the collision occurring.

Should the above time limit not be compiled with the claimant’s claim will prescribe and he will lose his right to claim any compensation whatsoever, although there are exceptions in identified claims for example if the claimant was a minor. In the case of an unidentified vehicle claim, this must be lodged with the Road Accident Fund within two years of the date upon which the claim arose to avoid prescription of the claim. As a result, in the case of an unidentified collision it is imperative that you make contact with our offices as soon as possible to avoid the possibility of losing your claim. There are many exceptions to prescription dates so even if you feel your claim may have prescribed, please call us and we will happily advise you further at no charge.

The Cost Of Instituting The Claim
There will be significant disbursements incurred in respect of paying for medical specialists, Advocates fees, CT Scans and other disbursements. Should we be satisfied with the strength of the clients claim, our firm will cover these disbursements on behalf of the client and recover these costs once the claim has been finalised.

Our firm would normally, for these type of claims, enter into a contingency fee agreement (a no win no fee agreement) where our maximum fees are limited to a percentage, which is agreed on in advanced, of the payment received from the Road Accident Fund.
Should you require any advice on instituting a Road Accident Fund claim or any other personal injury claim please feel free to contact us.