Coughlan N.O. v Road Accident Fund

Three minor children lost their mother, Ms Noelle Margaret Beyers, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in June 2002. Their father had predeceased her. After her death, the children were placed in the foster care of their maternal grandparents, who were appointed as foster parents by the Children’s Court and received foster child grants under social assistance legislation. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) admitted liability for 100% of the children’s proven loss of support, quantified at R112 942. The foster child grants received exceeded this amount. The dispute was whether the foster child grants had to be deducted from the RAF compensation for loss of support.

Leave to appeal was granted. The appeal succeeded. The order of the Supreme Court of Appeal was set aside. The Road Accident Fund was ordered to pay the costs in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, including the costs of two counsel where applicable.

The case authoritatively settled that foster child grants are not deductible from damages for loss of support in RAF claims. It clarified the constitutional nature and purpose of social assistance for children and distinguished it from delictual compensation. The judgment strengthened the protection of vulnerable children’s rights under sections 27 and 28 of the Constitution and limited the scope of the double-compensation argument in social grant contexts.