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Law Society welcomes Pretoria High Court dismissal of Finance and Health

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) welcomes the decision by the North Gauteng High Court: Pretoria today not to permit the applications by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health to join as parties in the matter of the LSSA (and others) against the Minister of Transport and the Road Accident Fund (RAF).  The two Ministers had applied to join the matter in support of the respondents (Minister of Transport and RAF).

The LSSA had contended the two Ministers should not be joined as parties as their intervention would not bring anything new to the case.

The LSSA has also welcomed the fact that the Minister of Health today indicated in court that the method of assessment used in the RAF Amendment Act – the American Medical Association Guides – for the measurement of serious injury in road accident victims, is not an appropriate long-term method of assessment.

Counsel for the Minister of Health also indicated today that the particular State health tariff (the UPFS), now substituted for private health care costs by the RAF Amendment Act,  was inappropriate for the reimbursement of  road accident victims’ medical costs.

In addition, the LSSA welcomed the presence of a large contingent of disabled persons in court under the banner of the Quadpara Association of South Africa and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (two of the applicants with the LSSA), signifying their concern for the suffering and deaths of many road accident spinal chord victims in State hospitals.

The LSSA is challenging the constitutionality and legality of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act and Regulations which came into effect in August 2008, and which are seriously prejudicing some 200 000 road accident victims per year.

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