Hit and Run Accident Claims in South Africa | How To Lodge A RAF Claim

A hit-and-run Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim in South Africa is a claim against the Fund itself rather than against an identified driver. It is brought under the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 (as amended) when the driver who fled the scene is unidentified or untraceable, and it follows the same Form RAF 1 lodgement route as any other RAF claim, with the police case number replacing driver and vehicle details. The first three steps are non-negotiable: report the accident to SAPS and obtain a case number, seek medical attention and keep records, and lodge the claim with the Fund within the prescription period (two years from the date of the accident for the claim to be enforceable, with limited condonation for late lodgement in defined circumstances). If the claim is disputed by the Fund, common on quantum and on causation, the matter may be litigated in the Gauteng Division of the High Court if the accident arose in Gauteng, or in the High Court with jurisdiction over the place where the accident occurred.

Who the Fund Pays When the Driver Has Fled (and When It Doesn’t)

The Road Accident Fund is a statutory fund that pays compensation to victims of motor vehicle accidents caused by the negligent driving of a driver of a motor vehicle covered by the Fund, in place of that driver. A “hit-and-run” claim is a claim where the driver or vehicle is unidentified or untraceable; the claim proceeds against the Fund directly because there is no identifiable defendant to sue in their personal capacity. The statutory basis is found in sections 17 and 19 of the Act, which deal respectively with unidentified and untraced drivers, as split by the 2005 Amendment Act from what was originally a single combined provision.

The Fund’s obligation is triggered when the accident was caused by the negligent driving of a motor vehicle; if the claimant was the sole cause (for example, the claimant deliberately drove into a stationary object with no other vehicle involved), the claim will not succeed. Passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, occupants of the other vehicle, and the drivers and passengers of vehicles that collided with the fleeing vehicle are all eligible claimants. The Fund does not pay for damage to the claimant’s own vehicle; first-party property damage to vehicles is excluded under the current RAF dispensation.

Step-by-Step: How to Lodge a Hit-and-Run RAF Claim

1. Report to SAPS immediately. Open a case at the police station where the accident occurred or where the vehicle was last traced. Obtain a SAPS case number and a copy of the statement and the CAS docket reference. The case number is the anchor of the RAF claim and must appear on the Form RAF 1.
2. Get medical attention and document everything. Hospital records, doctor’s reports, X-rays, prescriptions, sick notes and receipts are the evidence base for the general damages and loss-of-earnings claims. Even where injuries seem minor at the scene, document them; RAF claims can take months or years to finalise, and injuries may surface later.
3. Collect scene evidence before it disappears. Photographs of the scene, the damaged vehicle, road conditions, signage and skid marks; witness names and statements; any CCTV from nearby businesses; the position of the vehicles. This evidence is harder to reconstruct after the fact.
4. Preserve vehicle evidence. The damaged vehicle should not be repaired or scrapped before an independent assessment if possible. The RAF may arrange an inspection, and the damage is part of the evidence.
5. Engage an attorney or lodge personally. A claimant may lodge the claim personally, but most claimants use an attorney because Form RAF 1 is technical and the Fund routinely queries incomplete forms. A specialist RAF attorney will also assess whether the claim falls within the Act’s scope before lodgement.
6. Complete Form RAF 1. The prescribed form, available on the RAF website, captures the claimant’s particulars, the accident details, the police case number, the injuries and the loss claimed. For a hit-and-run, the driver and vehicle fields are marked as “unidentified” or “unknown.”
7. Lodge with the Fund and serve the required supporting documents. Submit the form with the supporting annexures (medical reports, ID, police case docket reference, accident description, employer’s reports for loss of earnings) to the RAF’s regional office with jurisdiction over the accident location.
8. Wait for the Fund’s decision and respond to any queries. The Fund has a defined period to assess and either admit or dispute liability. Queries on missing documents are common; a well-prepared file at lodgement materially shortens this stage.
9. If liability is disputed or quantum is insufficient, litigate. The High Court with jurisdiction over the place of the accident hears disputed RAF matters. For Gauteng matters, this is the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Pretoria or Johannesburg seat depending on accident location).

Time Limits: How Long You Have to Claim

The statutory prescription framework under the Act gives a claimant two years from the date of the accident to lodge a claim that the Fund is obliged to consider. A claimant who fails to lodge Form RAF 1 within that period must apply for condonation, supported by an affidavit explaining the reasons for the late lodgement. The condonation application is not automatic; the claimant must show good cause for the delay and that the claim is otherwise properly constituted.

In practice, the earlier the claim is lodged, the better the evidence base. Photographs disappear, witnesses become untraceable, and medical records are easier to obtain closer to the accident date. For minors (claimants under 18), special prescription rules apply that effectively allow lodgement at any time before the claimant turns 21, with limited extensions. The two-year clock runs from the date of the accident, not from the date the injuries manifest, the date of medical diagnosis, or the date the claimant first realises the Fund exists.

Time-Limit Question	Position Under the RAF Act
From when does the prescription clock run?	The date of the accident.
Standard prescription period	Two years from the accident date.
If lodged late	Condonation application required, supported by affidavit explaining the delay.
Minors (under 18)	Special rules effectively extend lodgement until the claimant turns 21, with limited extensions.
Best practice	Lodge well inside the two-year window; evidence is fresher and the file is less vulnerable to dispute.

What You Can Claim (and What You Cannot)

The Fund pays for bodily injury and its financial and personal consequences, not for damage to property. The categories currently available under the Act are set out in the table below.

Head of Damage	What It Covers	Typical Evidence
Past and future hospital and medical expenses	Treatment, surgery, medication, therapy, future care costs	Medical invoices and reports
Past and future loss of earnings	Income lost because of the injuries, including future capacity loss	Payslips, IRP5, tax returns; actuarial calculation for future loss
General damages	Pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life, disfigurement	Treating-doctor reports, assessed under current RAF dispensation caps
Loss of support	For dependants of a deceased victim	Actuarial calculation on the dependency structure
Excluded	Damage to the claimant’s own vehicle (first-party property loss); pure psychological injury without a physical injury basis in most cases	N/A

Documents You Will Need for the Claim File

• South African identity document (or unabridged birth certificate for minors)
• Police case number and any SAPS docket reference
• Medical records: hospital discharge summary, treating doctor’s report, X-rays and special investigations, prescription records, sick notes
• Proof of income at the time of accident (payslips, IRP5, tax returns) for loss-of-earnings calculations
• Accident description in affidavit form, signed by the claimant
• Witness statements (sworn affidavits) where available
• Photographs of the scene, the vehicles and the injuries
• Any CCTV footage or dashcam footage
• For loss-of-support claims: death certificate, marriage or dependency documentation, birth certificates of dependants
• Power of attorney, contingency fee agreement, and consent forms (where the claim is run by an attorney)

Common Reasons RAF Claims Are Disputed (and How to Avoid Them)

Dispute Ground	How to Pre-empt It
Police case number absent or incomplete	Open the SAPS case before doing anything else; without a CAS reference, the Fund routinely disputes liability.
Causation challenged	Clean medical records from before and after the accident strengthen the file; the Fund may argue the injuries are pre-existing or unrelated.
Quantum challenged	Actuarial reports, employer’s records and treating-doctor reports counter most quantum disputes.
Late lodgement	Lodge well inside the two-year window; files lodged near the prescription cut-off are more vulnerable to dispute.
Incomplete Form RAF 1	Missing annexures trigger queries that lengthen the timeline; a complete, indexed file at lodgement materially shortens the process.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice runs MVA and insurance repudiation files through Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo at the Roodepoort branch, which means files built to pre-empt these specific dispute grounds are part of how the practice is set up, not an afterthought.

How Burger Huyser’s Litigation Practice Handles RAF and MVA Claims

Burger Huyser Attorneys handles MVA and RAF claims through its general litigation practice. Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo, based at the Roodepoort branch, specialises in MVA claims and insurance repudiations. The litigation practice runs the full arc of an RAF file: pre-lodgement eligibility review, Form RAF 1 preparation and lodgement, ongoing Fund correspondence, supplementary medical and actuarial evidence, and High Court litigation if the matter is disputed. Files are coordinated from the branch nearest to the accident location, with Gauteng Division filings routed through the Pretoria or Johannesburg seat depending on where the accident occurred. Initial consultations assess whether the claim falls within the Act, whether the prescription window is open, and what evidence is already in hand.

If you have been hit by a driver who fled the scene, contact Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice to assess whether you have an RAF claim and to start the lodgement process. The firm handles hit-and-run RAF files from its Gauteng branches, with the Roodepoort branch (Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo, 16 Galena Avenue, Helderkruin, Roodepoort, 011 668 0030, after-hours 061 516 0091) running MVA and insurance repudiation work as a specialisation, and the Linden/Randburg head office (49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 011 888 0246) coordinating the litigation practice across Gauteng. Bring your police case number, identity document and any medical records you already have to the first consultation; the firm will assess prescription, eligibility and the evidence base before taking the matter to lodgement. Burger Huyser carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and fields this work across its Gauteng branches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to know who hit me to claim from the RAF?

No. You can claim against the Fund even where the driver who fled is unknown and remains unknown, provided you have a valid police case number and can show the accident was caused by the negligent driving of a motor vehicle. The hit-and-run provisions of the Act are designed precisely for this scenario.

How long after a hit-and-run can I still claim from the RAF?

The Act gives a two-year prescription window from the date of the accident, with limited condonation for delay in defined circumstances. For minors, the rules effectively extend lodgement beyond the age of majority. Lodging earlier is materially better, because the evidence is fresher and the file is less vulnerable to dispute.

Do I need an attorney to lodge a hit-and-run RAF claim?

A claimant may lodge the claim personally, but in practice most claimants instruct an attorney because Form RAF 1 is technical, the supporting documents are specific, and the Fund routinely disputes files that are incomplete. An attorney assesses eligibility and prescription before lodgement so the claimant is not building a file the Fund will reject on a threshold ground.

Does the RAF pay for damage to my car?

No. Under the current RAF dispensation, first-party property damage (damage to the claimant’s own vehicle) is excluded. The Fund pays for bodily injury, medical expenses, loss of earnings, general damages, and loss of support for dependants of a deceased victim; vehicle repairs are not covered.

What if the police never find the driver who hit me?

The claim still proceeds against the Fund directly. The hit-and-run nature of the incident is not a barrier; what matters is that the accident was caused by the negligent driving of an unidentified motor vehicle, that a police case was opened, and that the file is otherwise in order.

What happens if the RAF disputes my claim?

The matter may be litigated in the High Court with jurisdiction over the place where the accident occurred. For accidents in Gauteng, this is the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Pretoria or Johannesburg seat depending on accident location). Litigation is run through Burger Huyser’s general litigation practice.