Crash victim Agnes Mokalapa – who had accepted a settlement offer from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) worth far less than what she was entitled to – approached the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to sue her lawyers for the balance, after the money she had received was all spent in less than a year.

But a Pretoria News report says the law firm that she sued – Ramushu Mashile Twala Inc –told the court that Mokalapa would not listen to their legal advice at the time that she should not accept the settlement.

Her lawyer said the woman was so excited at the prospect of receiving money from the RAF that she would not listen to his advice. Judge Annali Basson was told the woman told her lawyer that she wanted to use the money before she died.

Her exact words, according to the lawyer, were ‘I did not want to die before spending my money’. 

But Mokalapa’s version now, more than a decade after she received her money, is that the lawyer and his firm breached their duty towards her by accepting the inferior offer on her behalf.

While her initial claim was slightly more than R500 000 she accepted an offer of R218 776 made by the fund.

Her lawyer said he told her the offer was inadequate in relation to the injuries sustained by her during the accident, but she wanted the money immediately, instead of prolonging the proceedings by going for further medical assessments.

The court concluded that she was not entirely truthful. 

Her claim was subsequently turned down.

Full Pretoria News report in The Star

Judgment