Dependants can’t sue Road Accident Fund where breadwinner dies in single vehicle accident

Patrick Bracher from Norton Rose Fulbright.

The surviving wife and children of a breadwinner sued the Road Accident Fund for damages when he died as a result of a single vehicle accident in which the deceased’s negligence was the sole cause of the collision.

The court held that the Road Accident Fund does not provide such a remedy and no wrongfulness was established against the Road Accident Fund.

This is all the more reason why people need personal accident insurance and it is a pity that the demarcation regulations have limited the role that accident policies play.

The government has published a draft Road Accident Fund Benefit Scheme Act which will provide defined benefits on a no-fault basis to persons for bodily injury or death arising from road accidents which will eventually replace the Road Accident Fund Act for future claims. Liability will be limited and will be excluded where COIDA is in place. Common law claims will be excluded against the owner or driver of a vehicle involved in a road accident or the employer of the driver, making accident insurance even more essential.

[The case is Septoo v The Road Accident Fund]

First published by Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot.