updated: 13-Aug-17
It does happen that when a young child is involved in an accident, their parents do not know about the possibility of claiming from the Road Accident Fund (RAF), and do not institute the legal action the child is entitled to. Measures have been put into place to protect these minors from losing out on compensation. One such measure is the ability to claim at a stage that is later than the normal prescription periods, when they are involved in an identified accident. de Broglio Attorneys Inc. are authorities in this type of legal work and have helped many clients settle claims for accidents that occurred years ago when the requirements have been met.
Jacob Mwila* was a young child who was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in 1998. He was a passenger in a vehicle that lost control and he sustained a severe traumatic diffuse axonal brain injury and underwent neurosurgery.
His parents did not know about the RAF and never lodged a claim for him. When he became an adult he approached the RAF directly and lodged a claim with them. Unfortunately, he discovered like thousands of other direct claimants, that the RAF does not properly assist direct claimants and that you have to have a lawyer fight your case for you lest your claim lies dormant and untouched without settlement.
“The bottom line is, if you approach the Road Accident Fund directly, you may well save on legal fees, but if your case has any value to it you may be so considerably under-settled that any saving you get on legal fees will be a fraction of what you have just lost by not approaching an attorney. Before you finalise any case with the Road Accident Fund, go to a reputable attorney and get the offer checked, because you may just discover that you are absolutely being taken advantage of,” warned Michael de Broglio.
He appointed de Broglio Attorneys Inc. 17 years after his accident to represent him in his RAF claim. They terminated the mandate of the RAF and got Jacob’s claim on the go in their usual robust manner.
Due to the severity of his injuries, he is unable to handle his own affairs and de Broglio Attorneys appointed a curator to assist him. His father also assisted him and with the strength and fortitude of de Broglio Attorneys Inc. behind him, his claim was settled within 2.5 years of him signing up with them.
Jacob was awarded R5,913,262.00 in the North Gauteng High Court. This is an incredible settlement considering that he could not get any money out of the RAF by his own efforts. In order to protect his money, de Broglio Attorneys Inc. will place the money in a trust to be managed for him.
Jacob was ecstatic with his settlement and said, “My case was settled yesterday and I would like to thank you and the people that made it possible and it was really done professionally and the settlement amount really exceeded my expectations.”
This case really highlights the dangers of claiming directly from the RAF without an attorney. There is an extremely high likelihood that you will get no or very little compensation out of the RAF through a direct claim and it is always better to phone professionals like de Broglio Attorneys Inc. on (011) 446-4200 for advice.
*Names have been changed to protect client confidentiality.
Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.