The first step in claiming from the RAF is to gather all the necessary documents. Without all the relevant documents your claim's probability of success will decrease. The documents required to launch a claim with the RAF are;
Standard documents for injury claims:
General Damages:
Loss of Earnings:
Past Medical Expenses:
Standard documents for death claims:
Funeral Expenses:
Loss of Support:
The claim is lodged on a prescribed statutory claim form (Form 1 is to be used in respect of claims arising prior to 01 August 2008 and RAF 1 from 01 August 2008 onwards) which provides basic information on the claimant, the vehicles and parties involved in the collision, the date and place of accident and the amounts claimed.
The drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision must furnish details of the accident to the RAF on a statutory accident report form (Form 3 is to be used in respect of claims arising prior to 01 August 2008 and RAF 3 from 01 August 2008 onwards) together with information of witnesses which the RAF may request.
Ensure that all the documents are filled in correctly and make copies of all the paperwork, in the event of an administration error, having copies of the documents will hasten the process. Once the claim is processed, the legal proceedings begin and the claimants evidence is considered by the RAF.
If the claim arose after the 31 July 2008 and general damages are claimed, a Serious Injury Assessment Report (RAF 4) must be submitted to the RAF confirming that the injury sustained is serious for the purposes of the Act.
Once you have completed all the necessary forms and accompanying documents, you must submit the documents in hard-copy, faxed documents require the originals to be furnished and emailed documents are not accepted.
The RAF determines whether the claim is valid (i.e. was there a road accident, does it comply with statutory provisions, was it submitted in time, etc.) and what the merits of the case are (i.e. the degree of fault, blame or negligence to be ascribed to the drivers of the vehicles and the claimant respectively). The quantum is also determined (i.e. the amount of the damages or losses suffered).
If a submission is incomplete, the RAF will object to the validity of the claim at the preassessment stage and return the claim documents for the claimant to resubmit with all the required documents If the claim arose after the 31 July 2008 and general damages are claimed, a Serious Injury Assessment Report (RAF 4) must be submitted to the RAF confirming that the injury sustained is serious for the purposes of the Act.
Verify that you have submitted all the required documents by contacting the RAF Contact Centre: 087 820 1 111.
SMS: 44930
Email outstanding documents to: contactcentre@raf.co.za With subject line: Backlog Documents