Law Society Accuses RAF of Unfair Treatment As Lawyers Stand in Long Queues to Try to Settle Clients’ Cases

The Law Society of South Africa has expressed concern about the Road Accident Fund's treatment of lawyers lining up outside its offices

The Law Society accused RAF of subjecting the lawyers to unfair conditions and delaying justice for their clients

The lawyers camped overnight to settle their client's cases, only for RAF to fail to open its office doors

PRETORIA - The Law Society of South Africa is unhappy with how lawyers trying to settle their clients' Road Accident Fund (RAF) cases are being treated.

The Law Society has slammed RAF for subjecting the lawyers to unfair treatment and impeding accident victims' access to justice.

Hundreds of lawyers line up overnight to settle their clients' RAF cases

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Throngs of lawyers have had to endure long lines outside the RAF offices at Sammy Marks Square in Pretoria since noon on Sunday, 18 June, to negotiate block settlements.

This comes after RAF released a notice informing legal practitioners about the dates and venues for block settlements.

The notice indicated that the negotiations would be on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Committed representatives started queuing early to be the first ones served on Monday, 19 June.

Police called after lawyers refused to leave RAF offices

But when Monday rolled around, RAF failed to open its office doors, and the lawyers were told to return on Tuesday, 20 June, IOL reported.

Seething with frustration, the legal practitioners refused to leave the premises without being served, resulting in the police being called in.

Eunice Masipa, President of the Law Society of South Africa, expressed concern about the way the RAF decided to handle the block settlements. Masipa said that the processes were structured, with scheduled meetings with specific times and dates, IOL reported.

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South Africans have slammed RAF for poor planning

Below are some comments:

@maryjaneexplore said:

"Now attorneys work hard, yoh."

@bhubaza complained:

"This is horrible, bad planning on the fund's side, and clearly, there's no room for improvement. I hate it here."

@sisipho_tsawu added:

"It’s giving NSFAS trauma."

@Onela_B sympathised:

"Getting a block booking is so tough, I get it, shame."

Mom claims to use RAF money to take son out for dinner after dad’s payout, Mzansi filled with questions

In another story, Briefly News reported that a Twitter user showed people what she got up to with her son. The lady told the Internet that the expenses were covered by her baby daddy's Road Accident Fund money.

The video got much attention as people were curious whether she was trolling. This lady' post got over half a million viewers and thousands of likes.

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A Twitter user, @Ketso28, posted four pictures of a day out with her son. The tweep told people that the bill for their lunch was settled by the boy's father, money from RAF. The fund pays road users in the country damages when involved in an accident.

Source: Briefly News