As you can imagine, it is all rather complex, and while some people try to save money in the form of legal costs, by claiming against the Road Accident Fund themselves, they normally do themselves an extreme disservice in doing so as the Road Accident Fund is not really equipped to not only defend your claim, but also to represent you against itself!

What decides what is a big claim and what is not in most claims is the question of loss of income which can of course be huge.  This again depends entirely on the injury you suffer and what your job beforehand.  In the classic example, that is given time and time again, a lawyer who loses a small finger may not have suffered a life ruining, or rather job ruining injury, but that same injury to a pianist may indeed be the end of a career – or for example, to the secretary, may reduce greatly her typing speeds and effectiveness.  At times like that, attorneys would step in and see, for example, whether or not voice dictation software is good enough for that secretary to maybe maintain at least 70% of her effectiveness and through the obtaining of reports from various experts including: occupational therapists, industrial psychologists, orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, the attorneys will delve into that particular person’s life, lifestyle and present the case to the Road Accident Fund and if need be, to a court.  You also have a claim for past medical expenses and that is normally quite simple, you keep a record of all of your accounts that are related to the accident and your attorney claims them back from the Road Accident Fund.  

More complex than that is the question of future medical expenses and this is ascertained by your attorney referring you to a number of specialists who will prepare what are known as medico-legal reports on you, and will anticipate what sort of treatment you will need in the future, ranging from conservative treatment such as physiotherapy all the way through to actual surgery.