Personal injury litigation relates to a claim flowing from an injury to one’s body, or the death of a spouse/parent or breadwinner.  It can also include a claim for emotional shock and trauma, provided that specific legal requirements are met.

Personal injuries can be caused by a number of incidents, the most common of which is a motor vehicle accident.  Other incidents which can give rise to personal injury claims are medical negligence, train accidents or incidents (such as being pushed from a moving train), dog bites or injuries caused by other animals, as well as slip and trip incidents.

If the incident that caused the injuries was not your fault, a personal injury claim can be instituted against the person, or institution responsible for the incident.

The amount one can claim (or the quantum of the claim) is determined with reference to the following headings (or heads of damages):

• Past medical expenses

The cost of past treatment for injuries sustained. This would include such fees as hospital or doctors’ accounts, as well as pain medication.

• Future medical expenses

The cost of future treatment to be undertaken.

• Past and future loss of earnings, or earning capacity

Income not paid to you due to your inability to generate the income which you earned at the time of the accident, or incident as a result of the injuries sustained – for example in the case of unpaid sick leave, or losing the opportunity to take on a new contract.  This also includes income that you will not be able to earn in future as a result of the injuries sustained,  due to for example early retirement, or a reduced capacity to earn an income such as with a demotion or decreased overtime.

• General damages

Compensation for pain and suffering endured, and which will in future have to be endured as a result of injuries sustained.

In South Africa, the responsibility for payment for injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents is regulated by an act of law, namely the Road Accident Fund Act.  This act provides that the Road Accident Fund (“RAF”) has to step into the shoes of the driver that caused the motor vehicle accident, also referred to as “the insured driver”.  Instead of claiming against the insured driver, who in many instances does not have the financial means to adequately compensate a person who was injured in a motor vehicle accident, this claim has to be submitted to the Road Accident Fund.  The RAF Act further provides that the RAF in turn is responsible to investigate and settle claims brough against it. 

We offer a free first consultation to all prospective clients, and we also take on matters on a contingency basis.  This means that you do not have to pay any monies upfront, and if your claim is not successful or not partly successful, we will not charge you at all. We take the financial risk of pursuing your claim off your shoulders, and take care of the interim expenses needed to prove your claim.  It is only when your claim is successful and upon recovery of the amount due to you, that we will set off the value of monies owed to us in line with the fee agreement concluded, which we will fully explain to you at the onset of a matter.