A claim for loss of support arises where the breadwinner (or person under a legal duty to support the dependant) is killed as a result of the negligent driving of a motor vehicle and the dependant of the breadwinner (or person under the legal duty to support) may claim from the RAF his or her proven past and future loss of support. Loss of support is a patrimonial loss or a claim for special damages. Loss of support can be divided into the following categories:
Past loss of support (from the date of accident to the date of calculation); and
Future loss of support (from the date of calculation to the date when the duty to support ends).
Loss of support is premised on the principle that there is a delictual obligation to place the dependants in the same position they would have been had the death not occurred.
