Hundreds of lawyers, desperate to have their clients’ claims settled directly with the Road Accident Fund (RAF), were again waiting for service yesterday after camping overnight at Pretoria’s Sammy Marks Square.

However, the process remains painfully slow with the queues hardly moving.

As previously reported, attorneys claim it is virtually impossible to get a date at the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) for a case to be placed on the roll. One attorney said the next available court date for an RAF civil trial is in October 2025.

While many are eager to try to settle their cases directly with the RAF, they said this was nearly impossible for various reasons.

So when they received an invitation from the RAF last week saying that it would entertain block settlements for the rest of the week, hundreds of jumped at the opportunity to try and get an outcome for their clients.

The Star reports only a few firms were allowed in at a time yesterday and it took at least two hours for RAF staff to negotiate with each firm.

There was confusion about how many cases each attorney was allowed to present for a possible settlement. Some said they heard that it was six per law firm a day, while others said it was six per firm for the entire week.

One lawyer said his firm alone was sitting with 800 case files which were ready to be settled.

‘We have been asking for block settlements regarding these 800 files since 2020,’ he said.

According to him, an RAF official had said that they aimed to assist 60 to 70 law firms yesterday.

‘This will be a maximum of between 300 and 400 cases which will be considered. Thousands of cases will be turned away at this rate,’ he said.

RAF spokesperson Linda Rulashe said yesterday’s operation ran smoothly.

‘Due to an enhanced queuing process, operations are running smoother on day two and should continue to do so until December at the designated venues and dates as communicated to the plaintiff attorneys. Attorneys are starting to heed our call; those who follow the RAF’s instructions and comply with the orderly process will receive the necessary assistance,’ Rulashe said.

Conrad van der Vyver, an executive committee member of the Pretoria Attorneys’ Association, hailed the RAF for embarking on a block settlement process, but said it should be done in a structured manner.

Full report in The Star