Road Accident Fund v Ngubane

The respondent was injured in a motor vehicle collision on 8 December 2000 involving an unidentified driver. Her claim against the Road Accident Fund fell under section 17(1)(b) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996. She lodged her claim with the Fund approximately six weeks after the expiry of the two-year period prescribed by regulation 2(3). Despite the late lodgement, the Fund, through its claims handler, entered into an agreement admitting liability and undertaking to pay 80% of the respondent’s proven damages. When summons was later issued, the Fund raised a special plea that the claim had prescribed due to non-compliance with regulation 2(3). The High Court held that the Fund had authority to conclude the agreement. The Fund appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, and the High Court’s ruling was upheld.

The case clarifies that late lodgement of a Road Accident Fund claim affects enforceability rather than existence, and confirms that the Fund may waive statutory time limits enacted for its benefit. It affirms the validity and binding nature of compromises entered into by the Fund, even where the original claim was procedurally defective, and is important for settlement practice in RAF litigation.