Quick answer
The next step depends on the claim stage. Before lodgement, confirm eligibility, driver identification status, claimant authority, prescription, the legally operative form and the minimum accompanying material. After lodgement, preserve proof, classify any objection, continue medical and loss evidence, and review settlement or formal process without assuming the claim’s presence in a system protects every right.
How to use this guide
Use one stage register showing current status, next decision, responsible person and earliest working date. This prevents records work, expert work and RAF correspondence from moving on different timelines.
Stage one: confirm the statutory claim
Record the motor vehicle, injured or deceased person, negligent or wrongful driving alleged, bodily injury or death and claimant capacity. Identify whether either the driver or owner is known, because establishing either identity changes the prescription classification. A repair claim for the vehicle itself follows a different route and should not be treated as part of ordinary RAF bodily-injury compensation.
Passenger, pedestrian or driver status affects the facts without automatically deciding the claim. Preserve the accident evidence and avoid admitting fault or selecting an apportionment percentage before the record is assessed.
Stage two: classify prescription
Do not use one universal deadline. In the ordinary adult position, a claim where either driver or owner is identified has to be lodged within three years from when the cause of action arose. If neither can be identified, the Regulations ordinarily provide two years. After timeous lodgement, section 23(3) ordinarily measures five years from the cause-of-action date rather than lodgement. Section 23(2) and current case law require separate analysis for minors and other persons under legal disability, and exact application depends on identification, claimant and submission facts.
Put the accident date, all identification efforts, any earlier delivery attempt and each RAF response on the register. An ongoing records request or informal negotiation should not be assumed to stop time. Obtain current advice if any period may be near.
Stage three: control the form and submission
Verify which RAF 1 form is legally operative at action time, who completes its medical section, which supporting material is required and where and how it must be delivered. Public downloads and operational notices can change or be affected by court decisions.
Complete applicable fields precisely, identify genuine unknowns and preserve the version source. Keep the signed form, full attachment index and delivery proof. A courier event, portal screenshot or ordinary email is not automatically proof of legally effective lodgement.
Stage four: respond to acceptance, return or objection
Receipt does not equal final validity or compensation. Record the date and content of every acknowledgment, objection, pre-assessment request or returned pack and link it to the exact submission. Preserve envelopes, tracking and versions.
Answer requests through a correspondence log with responsibility and delivery evidence. If the claim is challenged, do not assume that sending a new form repairs prescription or validates the first attempt. Obtain advice on the legal effect and available response.
Stage five: develop injury and loss evidence
Continue collecting treatment, prognosis, expenses, work and functional evidence after lodgement. Separate the claim medical report from RAF 4 serious-injury assessment. General damages, medical costs, earnings loss and support loss have different evidence needs.
Instruct experts only after defining the question and supplying a reliable source pack. A clinical, vocational or actuarial report cannot substitute for missing accident proof or valid procedure, and more reports do not guarantee a better result.
Stage six: review the proposed resolution
If an offer arrives, identify which heads, period, apportionment and future rights it addresses. Ask whether an undertaking, future treatment, earnings or serious-injury issue remains open and what release language will end. Compare the evidence and risks rather than only the gross amount.
Where proceedings, settlement authority or fees are involved, verify the practitioner, written mandate and deductions. Direct claimants should also obtain advice before signing a final release they do not understand.
Keep the file alive after each milestone
Maintain an updated chronology, evidence-gap register, expert schedule, expense and earnings records, and communications ledger. Keep prior versions so changes can be explained. Medical care should follow clinical need, not a claims timetable.
Review the stage register monthly and immediately after any accident-information change, new diagnosis, work event, RAF letter or legal document. No milestone should cause the deadline control to disappear.
If the RAF asks for information already supplied, respond from the indexed lodged pack and identify the earlier attachment rather than creating a fresh version from memory. Where new information genuinely updates treatment or loss, label the period and reason for change. This keeps the procedural history coherent and helps distinguish a supplement from a correction to the original claim.
What the stage map cannot determine
This pathway cannot calculate prescription, establish negligent driving, validate lodgement, decide serious injury or predict settlement. Those issues require the claimant’s complete facts, current law and evidence. It is a control framework, not legal advice or a guarantee that the RAF will accept or pay the claim.
FAQs
What should be checked before completing RAF forms?
Confirm statutory eligibility, driver identification status, claimant authority, earliest possible deadline and the currently operative form and delivery route.
What happens after lodgement?
Keep proof, monitor acknowledgements or objections, respond through a controlled record and continue developing medical and loss evidence.
Does direct claiming make the rules simpler?
It removes the choice to appoint a lawyer, not the statutory requirements. The claimant still needs current forms, valid delivery, evidence and deadline control.
When should a settlement be reviewed?
Before acceptance, particularly if future treatment, earnings, general damages, apportionment, an undertaking or release wording is involved.
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Source notes
Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.