Cool reception for RAF Bill
2003-10-14 17:54
Cape Town - The Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill
got little support from victims of accidents and their lawyers during consideration of the legislation by the National Assembly Transport portfolio committee on Tuesday.
The key point of contention in the amendment Bill is the provision for payment for damages to claimants - victims of road accidents - in
installments instead of in lump sums for future loss of income.
Owen Rogers, SC, representing the General Council of the Bar of South
Africa, in a submission to the multi-party committee, noted that while the
present wording of the principal Act, the Road Accident Fund Act of 1996,
gave the fund the discretion to pay compensation to a victim in installments, this
was not the case with the amendment.
He argued that "the effect of the amendment is to remove this discretion
and make payment by installment obligatory". His stance was backed by the Black Lawyers' Association (BLA), which said in a submission that it simply
"opposed" the abolition of lump-sum payments.
Rogers also argued that an amendment in the Bill removed the requirement
that the installments must be agreed between the parties.
The BLA's Muleleke Msimang noted in a submission that it also opposed the limitation of medical treatment to a tariff. "It is common knowledge that
most medical practitioners and hospitals contract outside medical tariffs. The
insistence on limiting medical costs to a tariff would prejudice the
claimants when making use of the undertaking."
Expenses
This view was supported by the South African Medical Association, which
said the current legislation allowed the fund to compensate a claimant - a
road accident victim - for all costs in respect of accommodation in a hospital or
nursing home.
It argued that the "arbitrary" reduction of the tariff in respect of
compensation through a prescribed medical tariff, medical practitioners and
private hospitals would "certainly be reluctant to treat claimants".
Quadriplegic Association of South Africa national director Ari Seirlis also "strongly opposed payment of general damages and loss of earning capacity by
installments". He argued that although the aim of the legislation was
apparently laudable - to reduce the fund's expenditure - the basis of the undertaking
of the fund was that the victim would first have to incur the cost of treatment
and then recover it from the fund.
"This would create extreme hardship for indigent claimants who cannot
afford to pay up front," he said.
Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Humphrey Kgomongwe, however, said the
legislation would improve the financial position of the fund. Quoted by
government news agency, BuaNews, he said there was currently "a mismatch"
between the RAF's income and expenditure.