Lawyer drops ‘impatient’ RAF claimant
10-year-old case remains unsolved
Kagiso Ratlhogo needs to appoint a new attorney to handle his case against the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Ratlhogo was hit by a taxi in Mabopane in December 2007 and his jaw was broken. He landed in a hospital intensive care unit where he was unconscious for three days.
He spent a further eight months in hospital after he was operated on.
Ratlhogo said his mother recommended Ndala Attorneys to handle his claim. The attorneys had lodged a successful claim on his behalf in a previous accident.
He said attorney August Ndala sent him to three doctors because his previous medical reports were no longer acceptable because they were “too old”.
“I am worried because this case will be 10 years old in 2018 while the attorney no longer responds to my messages,” Ratlhogo said.
He said when he realised that the attorney no longer welcomed his visits, he went to the RAF offices where he was issued with an expenditure authorisation showing that R378 000 was paid out to Savage Jooste & Adams.
Ratlhogo said he did not understand why this law firm was paid when he had approached Ndala Attorneys.
Upon asking Ndala, Ratlhogo said, the attorney denied receiving money or any knowledge of Savage Jooste & Adams. Consumer Line contacted Marcus Haasbrook of Savage Jooste & Adams who said Ratlhogo was compensated for a previous accident he had in 2007. Haasbrook said he subsequently had another accident and the claim was being handled by Ndala Attorneys.
“We advise Ratlhogo to consult with his attorney as we do not have his money,” Haasbrook said.
Ndala was upset when approached for comment. He said there had been delays in processing the claim, which was explained to Ratlhogo.
He said attorneys representing the RAF wanted him to distinguish between Ratlhogo’s two accidents.
“They needed new medical records which is why we wanted him to get another set of medical records,” he said.
Ndala said he had been working on Ratlhogo’s case for a long time and was about to finalise the matter. He said he would no longer proceed with the case and would ask Ratlhogo to transfer his matter to another attorney because “he no longer trusts our law firm”. He said by giving Consumer
Line an expenditure authorisation showing that R378 000 was paid out to Savage Jooste & Adams, he created the impression that he may have received and kept his money when this was in fact payment for his previous accident.
“I will call him and his mother to explain my disappointment and ask them to appoint another attorney to take over,” Ndala said.
He said that throughout the years he had been financially assisting Ratlhogo to either fix his car or buy groceries for the Christmas holidays.
All the moneys expended in his file will have to be paid in full before handing it to a new attorney, Ndala added.
Lesson to learn: get your facts right before complaining about anything or anyone.