RAF Claim Documents After an Accident: A South African Checklist

Key takeaways

• After a road accident involving injury or death, put emergency care and personal safety first. Then preserve the records that show who was involved, how the collision occurred, what bodily injury or death followed, which losses arose and what was later submitted to the Road Accident Fund. Keep native photographs, police and vehicle details, medical records, identity and authority documents, employment or dependency proof, itemised expenses, forms, covering letters and delivery receipts.
• Create one dated index, but keep unaltered originals and provider-issued records separate from your notes. A photograph of vehicle damage can support the collision history; the RAF claim itself concerns qualifying loss or damage caused by bodily injury or death, not ordinary property damage to the vehicle. A quotation is not proof of payment, a symptom diary is not a medical report, and a courier slip does not prove what was inside the parcel unless it is linked to a final indexed bundle.
• Do not wait for every damages document if a prescription or lodgement date may be approaching. Equally, do not submit an inconsistent form just to create activity. Have the accident date, identified-or-unidentified vehicle position, claimant capacity, prescribed form and delivery method checked in time. The correct claim-form position changed materially through litigation: as confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal on 30 April 2026, the 2008 RAF 1 form applies from 6 May 2022 until lawfully amended.
• The legal and public sources for this checklist were reviewed on 21 July 2026. The exact documents required depend on the claimant, claim category, accident, losses and current law. This is a collection and preservation guide, not confirmation that a bundle constitutes valid lodgement.

Put care and safety before evidence collection

Do not delay emergency assistance, medical treatment or movement from danger to take photographs or obtain statements. Evidence gathered at the cost of safety is not a sensible first step.

As soon as circumstances permit, write down:

• the date, approximate time and precise location of the collision;
• where you were and how you were travelling;
• the sequence you personally observed, separated from what others later said;
• the emergency services, police and healthcare facilities involved;
• the names and contact details of witnesses who volunteered them;
• the vehicle registration details visible or lawfully provided; and
• where photographs, video, messages, receipts and physical items are stored.

Label this as a contemporaneous note with its true creation date. Do not backdate it, add certainty you did not have or copy another person’s account as your own. If pain, medication, shock or loss of consciousness affected recall, say so.

For a child, unconscious patient or deceased person, the person making the note should identify their own role and the source of each fact. Do not present a family member’s reconstruction as eyewitness evidence.

Open a controlled evidence file

Use a stable folder structure from the beginning. The RAF accident claim document pack provides a reusable organisation framework. Your working file should still record the provenance and status of every item.

For each document or media file, note:

1. a unique index number;
2. a neutral title;
3. the event or issue it relates to;
4. the date created and date obtained;
5. who created or issued it;
6. whether it is an original, certified copy, ordinary copy, download or photograph;
7. the source location and custodian;
8. any request made for a missing complete version;
9. the submission or disclosure history; and
10. access restrictions for health, identity or financial information.

Keep a read-only source copy and work from duplicates. Preserve original file names and metadata for digital media. Do not overwrite a photograph with a cropped, filtered or annotated version. If an enlarged or marked-up copy is useful, save it separately and keep the untouched original.

The RAF claim checklist can then map each record to the relevant claim stage without changing the evidence file itself.

Collision and scene records

Scene evidence should help a reviewer reconstruct the road environment and movement of vehicles or people. Where it is safe and lawful to do so, preserve:

• wide photographs showing the road, intersection, lanes and surroundings;
• closer views of vehicle positions and damage;
• road signs, signals, markings and relevant obstructions;
• lighting, visibility and weather conditions;
• debris, skid marks or other temporary features;
• visible injuries, torn clothing or damaged personal safety equipment, with dignity and consent;
• dash-camera or nearby camera footage that you lawfully control; and
• an unedited location reference or map pin.

Do not trespass, obstruct emergency personnel or obtain material by accessing another person’s phone, camera, account or premises without authority. A witness may preserve and provide their own media; record when and how you received the copy.

Native media matters because an uncontrolled screenshot can remove date, time and device information. It can still be useful, but should not be mislabelled as the original file.

Keep vehicle repair quotations and insurer assessments in a separate collision-context folder. They may illustrate impact or identify vehicles, but the RAF bodily-injury claim is not a vehicle-repair claim.

Police, driver, vehicle and witness information

Record the police station, accident-report or docket reference, attending officers if known and the date the incident was reported. Request the appropriate official records through the lawful channel and preserve the request, payment and collection trail.

Collect, where lawfully available:

• registration numbers and descriptions of all relevant vehicles;
• driver and owner names and contact details;
• driving-licence and insurer information exchanged at the scene;
• passenger details;
• witness names, contact details and their own accounts;
• the official accident report, sketch plan and related police material when available;
• charge-sheet, inquest or criminal-case records where relevant and lawfully obtainable; and
• towing, recovery and emergency-service details that help connect records to the event.

Do not alter a witness statement or pressure a witness to adopt your wording. Keep the first version, later clarification and source communications. If a driver left the scene or the vehicle is unidentified, preserve every detail that could help identification and obtain deadline advice promptly; unidentified-vehicle claims have distinct regulatory rules.

Identity, status and authority records

The correct authority pack depends on who is claiming and in what capacity. Possible records include:

• the claimant’s identity document or other lawful identity record;
• the injured person’s identity record where someone else claims;
• an unabridged birth certificate for a minor;
• guardianship or court orders;
• curator appointment records;
• a Master’s appointment for an estate representative;
• marriage, customary-marriage or dependency records;
• death certificate;
• a signed power of attorney where the claimant is represented; and
• the legal practitioner mandate and contingency-fee agreement where applicable.

Do not assume that a parent, relative, partner, employer or caregiver automatically has authority to sign every form, settle a claim or receive money. The authority must match the claimant, legal capacity and step being taken.

Certifications expire for some administrative purposes or may need to meet a receiver’s current standard. Preserve the underlying original and record when, where and by whom a copy was certified.

Medical records from first response through recovery

Build a provider-by-provider medical chronology. Record every ambulance service, emergency department, hospital, treating practitioner, pharmacy, rehabilitation provider and later specialist.

Request complete provider-issued records, not only a discharge summary. Depending on the treatment, the file may include:

• ambulance and emergency notes;
• triage, admission and discharge records;
• clinical notes and observations;
• diagnoses and procedure records;
• imaging reports and the underlying images where available;
• laboratory or pathology results;
• operation and anaesthetic records;
• prescriptions and medication history;
• referral letters;
• physiotherapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation records;
• assistive-device prescriptions;
• sick notes and work restrictions;
• mental-health treatment records connected to the accident; and
• follow-up plans and recommendations for future care.

Keep a truthful daily or weekly account of symptoms, treatment attendance, assistance needed and activity limitations. State observable facts: what could not be done, what took longer, what assistance was used and when a condition changed. Do not copy clinical language you do not understand or exaggerate to match a claim category.

Provider records and a personal chronology serve different purposes. A diary can identify a treatment date or functional change for follow-up; it does not replace a diagnosis, statutory medical report or expert opinion.

The narrow medical-evidence article may later carry specialist detail, but this broad document owner keeps the complete chronology linked to the accident, claim and other loss records.

Medical forms, medico-legal reports and RAF 4 are not the same

Separate four categories:

The medical component of the prescribed claim

Section 24 requires a claim and accompanying medical report in the prescribed form. Section 24(2) addresses who completes that report and a protective route where the treating practitioner or hospital superintendent fails to do so within a reasonable time and prescription may result.

Underlying clinical records

These are contemporaneous healthcare records showing the reported event, injury, examination, diagnosis, treatment and progress. In Road Accident Fund v Busuku, the Supreme Court of Appeal held on the facts that hospital records accompanying a claim substantially complied with the section 24 medical-report requirement. That is not permission to omit the prescribed medical component casually; substantial compliance is fact-specific.

Medico-legal reports

These reports are prepared for a defined forensic issue, such as causation, prognosis, future treatment, work capacity or loss calculation. Record who instructed the expert, the source material provided, the examination date and later addenda. An expert opinion is only as reliable as its factual foundation.

The RAF 4 serious-injury assessment

The RAF 4 belongs to the separate statutory process for general damages. It does not replace the RAF 1 claim, ordinary medical records or proof of other loss. Keep its assessment, supporting reports, delivery proof, RAF response and any dispute or appeal record in a distinct subfile.

Do not rename every medical document “RAF report.” Precise titles make omissions and contradictions visible.

Employment and earnings records

If injury affected work or earning capacity, preserve the pre- and post-accident position. For an employee, this may include:

• employment contract and job description;
• payslips before and after the accident;
• employer confirmation of duties, remuneration and absence;
• leave, overtime, commission and bonus records;
• performance, promotion and training records relevant to the claimed trajectory;
• medical certificates and workplace accommodation records;
• tax returns or assessments; and
• bank statements that corroborate actual payment.

For a business owner, freelancer or informal earner, keep contemporaneous material such as quotations, accepted work, invoices, receipts, appointment books, stock purchases, platform statements, tax records, financial statements and bank entries. Do not reconstruct a polished income history from memory after the claim starts. Explain cash income honestly and identify independent corroboration.

Loss is not proved merely because the claimant suffered an injury or stopped working. The file must connect the injury to work limitations and compare the probable financial position without the accident to the actual or expected position after it. The specialised RAF loss-of-earnings owner should handle the detailed proof model rather than duplicating it here.

Medical, travel, care and related expenses

Create a schedule in which each claimed expense is linked to an issued document and payment record. Preserve:

• itemised hospital and practitioner invoices;
• pharmacy slips and prescriptions;
• statements showing medical-scheme or other payer contributions;
• proof of the claimant’s payment;
• transport records for accident-related treatment;
• assistive-device, home-care or rehabilitation costs;
• quotations for future needs, kept separate from incurred expenses; and
• reimbursement or benefit records from another source.

An invoice shows a charge; a receipt, bank entry or provider statement may show payment. A quotation estimates a future transaction. Do not put all three in a single “paid costs” total.

Keep evidence showing why a journey, device or care service was accident-related. A handwritten cash receipt may require confirmation from the issuer rather than being discarded or silently upgraded into a tax invoice.

Death, funeral and dependency records

For a death-related claim, preserve the documents connecting the collision, death, claimant and financial support relationship. Depending on the facts, these may include:

• death certificate;
• hospital, post-mortem and inquest material;
• police or criminal-case records;
• proof of marriage, parentage, customary relationship or another legal basis of support;
• maintenance orders and payment history;
• the deceased person’s employment, business, tax and bank records;
• the dependant’s own circumstances and income records;
• education records for a child or other dependant;
• itemised funeral invoices; and
• proof showing who actually paid each funeral expense.

A funeral invoice does not by itself prove the claimant paid it. A family relationship does not automatically establish the legal duty and extent of support. Keep the source documents and obtain advice on the applicable dependency basis.

Current form law versus operational checklists

The RAF’s public “How to claim” page lists extensive documents for injury, death, general damages, loss of earnings, medical expenses, funeral expenses and loss of support. Use it to identify potentially useful records. Do not assume every listed item is a statutory precondition to valid lodgement.

Section 24 requires the prescribed form and accompanying medical report, contains completion and delivery rules and gives the RAF a 60-day validity-objection mechanism. Pithey v Road Accident Fund confirms that submission of the claim form is peremptory, while completeness is tested through substantial compliance. The objective question includes whether the information enables the Fund to investigate and consider the claim.

In 2025, Maarman and Others v Road Accident Fund distinguished information relevant to later quantum assessment from documents whose absence necessarily justified refusing a claim at the threshold. In April 2026, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the invalidation of Board Notice 271 of 2022 and the revised RAF 1 form. Its order treats the 2008 RAF 1 as prescribed from 6 May 2022 until a lawful amendment.

This matters when building the pack: collect evidence thoroughly, but do not tell a claimant that every operational checklist item must exist before lodgement or that the invalidated 2022 form remains controlling. The law, collision date, claimant type and current instruments require review.

Reconcile the final submission pack

Before anything is delivered, freeze a final version and create a manifest showing:

• form title, version and page count;
• every annexure number and file name;
• claimant and representative details;
• accident date and claim category;
• medical-report and clinical-record components;
• signatures and dates;
• any field marked not applicable and why;
• certified-copy dates;
• unresolved evidence gaps; and
• the intended delivery method and destination.

Read the form and attachments together. Reconcile identity numbers, names, dates, registration numbers, accident location, injury description, treatment providers, employment facts and amounts. Explain a genuine inconsistency rather than changing a source record.

Preserve the complete delivered version, covering letter, registered-post record or hand-delivery acknowledgement, claim number, objection, request for more material and every later response. The RAF’s website currently distinguishes original claim submission from emailing outstanding documents; do not infer that emailing an initial bundle is valid statutory lodgement.

A delivery receipt without a manifest leaves uncertainty about contents. A manifest without delivery proof leaves uncertainty about receipt. Keep both.

Protect sensitive records

An RAF file may contain special personal information, medical history, identity documents, children’s information, tax records and bank statements. POPIA and health-confidentiality rules require purposeful, secure handling.

Use access-controlled storage, reliable backups and encrypted transfer where available. Send only the records required for the defined purpose to an authorised recipient. Verify email addresses and portal destinations independently. Do not circulate a complete pack in a public messaging group or use a shared link that anyone can open.

Keep a disclosure log recording who received which version, when, how and for what purpose. Redact only a working or public-facing copy; retain the authentic complete source for authorised legal use. Do not obscure information in a document that is being submitted as complete without making the redaction and reason explicit.

Common document-pack mistakes

Avoid these failures:

• collecting evidence before obtaining emergency care;
• sending the only original document;
• editing or recompressing the only copy of a photograph or video;
• using screenshots without preserving the native media;
• combining provider records with personal notes as though they have the same author;
• treating property damage as a separate RAF compensation head;
• counting quotations as paid expenses;
• reconstructing income without contemporaneous support;
• using one identity and authority pack for every claimant type;
• assuming the RAF 4 is the underlying claim form;
• relying on the invalidated 2022 RAF 1 merely because an old download remains online;
• waiting for a perfect quantum file while prescription may be running;
• submitting contradictory versions without a reconciliation note;
• sending an initial claim by an unverified channel; or
• keeping delivery proof that cannot be linked to the exact contents.

If a time limit or form validity is in doubt, use the RAF legal-service route to identify the service category. The RAF-claim lawyer directory is the focused discovery route once the evidence index is ready.

Fifteen checks before a RAF document consultation

1. Do the accident date, location and vehicle details match across every record?
2. Is the responsible vehicle identified, and what corroboration exists if it is not?
3. Which evidence is native or original, and which is a later copy or note?
4. Are the police reference and official accident records requested or obtained?
5. Does every healthcare provider appear in the medical chronology?
6. Are the statutory medical component, clinical records, medico-legal reports and RAF 4 separated?
7. Which losses are claimed, and what source document supports each?
8. Are invoices, quotations, receipts and third-party payments distinguished?
9. Is pre- and post-accident earnings evidence authentic and reconciled?
10. For death or support, what establishes the relationship, duty and actual support history?
11. Does the person signing have the correct legal capacity and authority?
12. Which prescribed RAF 1 form applies, and has current law been checked?
13. What evidence is still missing, from whom and since when?
14. Can the exact delivery bundle be matched to receipt or service proof?
15. Which prescription, dispute or procedural date needs immediate protection?

Use the lawyer consultation preparation guide to present the chronology and questions without surrendering the source file. The Lexuno lawyer directory provides the approved broader practitioner route.

Source position and review limits

This checklist uses the Road Accident Fund Act and 2008 Regulations, the RAF’s current claim pages, the 2026 Supreme Court of Appeal RAF 1 judgment, Pithey, Busuku, Maarman and Nhunge, together with current health-record and privacy law. Public RAF lists are treated as operational collection guidance, not an uncontested expansion of statutory lodgement conditions.

A qualified South African reviewer must still determine prescription, identified or unidentified vehicle, claimant capacity, prescribed form, medical-report completion, substantial compliance, submission channel, validity objection, the effect of the 2026 form order, supporting-document demands, RAF 4 timing, privacy, proof of loss and every case-specific date. No checklist can establish liability, claim value, completeness, valid lodgement, settlement or payment.

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