| (a) | subject to this Act, in the case of a claim for compensation under this section arising from the driving of a motor vehicle where the identity of the owner or the driver thereof has been established; |
| (b) | subject to any regulation made under section 26, in the case of a claim for compensation under this section arising from the driving of a motor vehicle where the identity of neither the owner nor the driver thereof has been established, |
be obliged to compensate any person (the third party) for any loss or damage which the third party has suffered as a result of any bodily injury to himself or herself or the death of or any bodily injury to any other person, caused by or arising from the driving of a motor vehicle by any person at any place within the Republic, if the injury or death is due to the negligence or other wrongful act of the driver or of the owner of the motor vehicle or of his or her employee in the performance of the employee's duties as employee: Provided that the obligation of the Fund to compensate a third party for non-pecuniary loss shall be limited to compensation for a serious injury as contemplated in subsection (1A) and shall be paid by way of a lump sum.
| (a) | Assessment of a serious injury shall be based on a prescribed method adopted after consultation with medical service providers and shall be reasonable in ensuring that injuries are assessed in relation to the circumstances of the third party. |
| (b) | The assessment shall be carried out by a medical practitioner registered as such under the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974). |
| (2) | [Section 17(2) deleted by the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act, 2005 (Act No. 19 of 2005)] . |
| (a) | No interest calculated on the amount of any compensation which a court awards to any third party by virtue of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be payable unless 14 days have elapsed from the date of the court's relevant order. |
| (b) | In issuing any order as to costs on making such award, the court may take into consideration any written offer, including a written offer without prejudice in the course of settlement negotiations, in settlement of the claim concerned, made by the Fund or an agent before the relevant summons was served. |
| (4) | Where a claim for compensation under subsection (1)— |
| (a) | includes a claim for the costs of the future accommodation of any person in a hospital or nursing home or treatment of or rendering of a service or supplying of goods to him or her, the Fund or an agent shall be entitled, after furnishing the third party concerned with an undertaking to that effect or a competent court has directed the Fund or the agent to furnish such undertaking, to compensate |
| (i) | the third party in respect of the said costs after the costs have been incurred and on proof thereof; or |
| (ii) | the provider of such service or treatment directly, notwithstanding section 19(c) or (d), |
in accordance with the tariff contemplated in subsection (4B);
| (b) | includes a claim for future loss of income or support, the amount payable by the Fund or the agent shall be paid by way of a lump sum or in instalments as agreed upon. |
| (c) | Includes a claim for loss of income or support, the annual loss, irrespective of the actual loss, shall be proportionately calculated to an amount not exceeding— |
| (i) | R160 000 per year in the case of a claim for loss of income; and |
| (ii) | R160 000 per year, in respect of each deceased breadwinner, in the case of a claim for loss of support. |
| (a) | The fund shall, by notice in the Gazette, adjust the amounts referred to in subsection (4)(c) quarterly, in order to counter the effect of inflation. |
| (b) | In respect of any claim for loss of income or support the amounts adjusted in terms of paragraph (a) shall be the amounts set out in the last notice issued prior to the date on which the cause of action arose. |
| (a) | The liability of the Fund or an agent regarding any tariff contemplated in subsections (4)(a), (5) and (6) shall be based on the tariffs for health services provided by public health establishments contemplated in the National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003), and shall be prescribed after consultation with the Minister of Health. |
| (b) | The tariff for emergency medical treatment provided by a health care provider contemplated in the National Health Act, 2003— |
| (i) | shall be negotiated between the Fund and such health care providers; and |
| (ii) | shall be reasonable taking into account factors such as the cost of such treatment and the ability of the Fund to pay. |
| (c) | In the absence of a tariff for emergency medical treatment the tariffs contemplated in paragraph (a) shall apply. |
| (5) | Where a third party is entitled to compensation in terms of this section and has incurred costs in respect of accommodation of himself or herself of any other person in a hospital or nursing home or the treatment of or any service rendered or goods supplied to himself or herself or any other person, the person who provided the accommodation or treatment or rendered the service or supplied the goods (the supplier) may, notwithstanding section 19(c) or (d), claim an amount in accordance with the tariff contemplated in subsection (4B) direct from the Fund or an agent on a prescribed form, and such claim shall be subject, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions applicable to the claim of the third party concerned, and may not exceed the amount which the third party could, but for this subsection, have recovered. |
| (6) | The Fund, or an agent with the approval of the Fund, may make an interim payment to the third party out of the amount to be awarded in terms of subsection (1) to the third party in respect of medical costs, in accordance with the tariff contemplated in subsection (4B), loss of income and loss of support: Provided that the Fund or such agent shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law contained, only be liable to make an interim payment in so far as such costs have already been incurred and any such losses have already been suffered. |
