Cape Town – A Durbanville widow who moved to the UK with her children following a crash that killed her husband has been awarded R5 million in compensation from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The Western Cape High Court ordered that the RAF was also liable to pay 10.25% in interest a year, starting next week.
The case dates back to May 2015 when the father, who was riding a motorcycle, was struck by a car. The driver was found to have been negligent and the only issue during trial was the appropriate amount in damages that should be awarded.
The father, 39, was the family’s principal bread-winner. He was a qualified computer programmer and at the time of his death received an annual remuneration package worth R754 692 plus an incentive bonus of R50 000.
It was accepted during the trial that his total annual income would have increased over time to R1 400 000 last year.
Following the crash, his widow decided to “start afresh” in a new country, and because one of her grandparents had been born in the UK, she was able to obtain an ancestral visa that allowed her to live and work in that country.
She and her sons then emigrated in December 2016 and settled in Buckingham.
“The plaintiff’s personal claim was actuarially calculated applying a 5% contingency deduction in respect of past loss and 15% in respect of her future loss
“In my judgment, the application of a 15% contingency deduction seems fair in all the circumstances. In arriving at the amount which it was suggested should be awarded, the actuary thereafter took into account the effect of the statutory cap provided in s 17(4)(a)(ii) of the Road Accident Fund Act,” Judge Ashley Binns-Ward found.
The RAF said it would respond to requests for comment today.