A young boy who suffered a head injury after being knocked down by a car in November 2006 has been let down by the law after his attorney first accepted a paltry Road Accident Fund settlement and then apparently stole the money. A News24 report says while the fund considers the matter closed, new lawyers are now attempting to make good and reopen the case to secure a better payout for the child.

Last week, KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Rashid Vahed ordered the court-appointed curator handling the matter to further investigate what had been done to recover the money from the original attorney, who is named as ‘Bashin Naicker’. Vahed commented: ‘It seems the attorney was paid and stole the money. Has he been questioned about this?’ The report says it is believed that ‘Bashin Naicker’ is Koobashan Naicker, an attorney who ran a busy practice in Durban North dealing mainly with RAF claims.

He was disbarred in 2011 for stealing trust fund money. It now appears that Naicker was never charged criminally for allegedly raiding his trust account. In the latest case, the child’s mother said she instructed ‘Bashin Naicker’ attorneys to sue the fund and get compensation but she heard nothing back from them.

In October 2011, she approached Errol Sibiya of Berkowitz Cohen & Wartski, who told her that the claim had been lodged by Naicker and the fund had paid out R50 000 in compensation – which she had never received. In her report, curator Michelle Moodley said from her own investigations the R50 000 accepted by Naicker ‘is miniscule in comparison the child’s injuries and suffering’.

Full News24 report