THE Law Society of the Northern Provinces is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the planned new Road Accident Benefit Scheme (RABS) from becoming operational.The society, representing lawyers in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West, says the scheme to replace the Road Accident Fund (RAF) will rob road accident victims of benefits they should be entitled to.But the RAF has accused the law society of fighting for its members’ livelihoods rather than the public’s benefit.The proposed new scheme, as outlined in the draft Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill published in May 2014, intends to do away with the current fault-based system. Any road accident victim will stand to receive compensation, irrespective of fault.However, there would no longer be payments for general damages and lump sum payments would fall away. Instead, the administrator will make monthly payments, which would cease when the beneficiary is successfully rehabilitated and returned to work.The draft bill is at the...
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