Case Law[2025] ZAGPPHC 515South Africa
Mjiako NO obo T.S v Road Accident Fund (23172/2018) [2025] ZAGPPHC 515 (20 May 2025)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
20 May 2025
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Mjiako NO obo T.S v Road Accident Fund (23172/2018) [2025] ZAGPPHC 515 (20 May 2025)
Mjiako NO obo T.S v Road Accident Fund (23172/2018) [2025] ZAGPPHC 515 (20 May 2025)
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sino date 20 May 2025
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IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
CASE
NUMBER: 23172/2018
DATE:
20 May 2025
July
2020
(1) REPORTABLE: YES/NO
(2)
OF INTEREST TO THE JUDGES: YES/NO
(3)
REVISED.
DATE:
2025.05.20
SIGNATURE:
ADV
NTOKOZO MJIAKO NO obo T[...] S[...]
Plalntlff
V
THE
ROAD ACCIDENT FUND
Defendant
JUDGMENT
MABUSE
J
[1]
This is a claim for payment of money arising from an incident that
took place on 11
January 2016. On the said date a blue Toyota motor
vehicle with registration letters and numbers C[...] (the insured
motor vehicle),
driven at the time by a certain E Bhokolo (the
Insured driver) collided with, a certain T[...] S[...], at the time a
pedestrian.
As a consequence of the said collision the said T[...]
S[...] sustained certain bodily injuries. For purposes of this
judgment
, I will refer to T[...] S[...] as the "Patient".
[2]
According to the pleadings, on 4 April 2018, the Plaintiff, L[...]
S[...], who
at the time was acting for the Patient, issued
summons against the Defendant, the Road Accident Fund(RAF), a
juristic person created
as such in terms of the provisions of section
2 of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 (the Act) and claimed from
the said Defendant
payment of money, together with certain ancillary
relief. The office of the Defendant as is now, and as it was then,
located at
32 The Glades Office Park, 420 Witch-Hazel Street,
Centurion, Pretoria.
[3]
Now a certain a certain Ntokozo Miyako, an adult male advocate, was
appointed by court
order as a curator ad !item. He is now the
Plaintiff in this matter.
[4]
The Patient's cause of action originated from these facts: On January
11, 2016, the
Patient was a pedestrian when he was hit by the said
insured motor vehicle. In that collision, he sustained certain bodily
injuries.
The expert reports submitted in this case have accurately
documented and recorded his injuries. Their sequelae have also been
set
out in those various reports.
[5]
According to the particulars of claim, the Defendant has conceded the
merits at 100%.
Therefore, when the matter came before court, it was
only for quantum or loss of income or loss of earning capacity. The
Patient
has incurred medical costs in the past and would continue, in
the future, incur medical costs for life.
[6]
When this matter came before court, the Plaintiff brought an
application in terms
of Rule 38(2) of the Uniform Rules of Court (the
Rules). In terms of this rule, the court was at large to permit the
requisite
evidence to be adduced by way of affidavits. The
application had been served on the Defendant and the Defendant did
not have any
problem with it. The placing of evidence before court by
way of affidavit was in accordance with the proposition initially
made
by Van Dijkhorst J in
Havenga v Parker 1993(3) SA 724 (T)
,
which proposition has now crystalized into the said Rule 38(2).
[7]
The nature of the injuries suffered by the Patient, their
seriousness, treatment and
the duration of their treatment, were
fully set out in the clinical records of Red Cross Children Hospital,
Groote Schuur Hospital
and furthermore in experts reports filed in
this matter. From these clinical records and various experts reports,
there is very
little doubt that the Patient suffered serious
injuries.
[8]
I now turn to the medical documents filed of record about the
injuries sustained by
the Patient as a result of the said collision.
[8.1]
The
Particulars of Claim
According to the
particulars of claim, the Patient had suffered the following
sequelae:
[8.1.1] she has received
medical treatment in the past and would continue in the future to
receive permanent medical treatment for
life.
[8.1.2] she has incurred
medical costs in the past and would continue in the future to incur
permanent medical costs permanently
for life.
[8.1.3] will suffer loss
of earning alternatively, a further loss of earning capacity, in the
future on a permanent basis for life.
[8.1.4] She has
experienced loss of life's amenities, pain, suffering, disfigurement,
and disabilities, and will continue to suffer
these on a permanent
basis.
I now tum to the
Patient's injuries as recorded in the clinical records and experts'
reports.
[8.2] The Clinical
Records of Groote Schuur Hospital. According to these clinical
records:
''The Patient was
admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital from Red Cross Memorial Children's
District Hospital on January 12, 2016, following
a motor vehicle
accident. As a result of the motor vehicle accident, the Patient had
sustained the following injuries:
[a]
very severe traumatic brain injury.
[b]
loss of consciousness
[c]
GCS was 4T/B
[d]
his pupils were fixed and dilated.
[e]
he had bilateral CSF"
GT brain scan done on
12 January 2016 showed bifrontal contusions, left cerebellar
contusion, small subarachnoid haemorrhage. He
had bilateral base of
skull fractures, involving left mastoid and right sphenoid wing.
GT abdomen showed
grade 2 liver laceration and also pelvic fracture (diastatic right
sacroiliac joint and fracture of right inferior
pubic ramus). The
pelvic fracture was managed conservatively."
Quiet clearly, the
Patient had sustained extremely serious injuries, according to the
above hospital records.
[9]
According to the particulars of claim, the Patient had, because of
the said collision,
sustained the following bodily injuries:
[9.1] Severe head
injuries with fractures and permanent neurocognitive compromise.
[9.2] Blunt trauma to the
abdomen with liver lacerations.
The full extent and
further details of the nature, effects and duration of the injuries,
the pain and suffering, disability, infringements
of the Patient's
enjoyment of the amenities of life, as well as the disfigurement, all
caused by the injuries, appear from the
experts' reports. The
defendant has admitted that the injuries sustained by the Patients
were of a serious nature.
[10]
According to the Plaintiffs particulars of claim, the Patient had
suffered the following sequelae:
[10.1] he has received
medical treatment in the past and would continue in the future to
receive permanent medical treatment in
his life.
incur medical costs
permanently for life.
[10.3] he will suffer
loss of earnings alternatively, the future loss of earning capacity
on a permanent basis and for life.
[10.4] The Patient has
experienced a reduction in life amenities, parn, suffering,
disfigurement, and disability, and is expected
to continue
experiencing these issues on a permanent basis.
RED
CROSS HOSPITAL
At
the first medical institution that admitted him after the collision
in question, the Patient was diagnosed with the following
injuries:
[1]
Severe closed head trauma with Glasgow coma scale of 40 stroke 50
[M3E1 Vt] on arrival
at the hospital.
[2]
bilateral frontal contusion.
[3]
left cerebellar contusion.
[4]
diffuse axonal shearing
[5]
intra ventricular hemorrhage.
[6]
bilateral base of skull fracture involving left mastoid and sphenoid
wing on the right.
[7]
secondary hydrocephalus and meningitis.
[8]
blunt abdominal trauma with grade 11 liver laceration.
[9]
pelvic fracture: diastasis of the right sacroiliac joint and fracture
of the right
inferior pubic ramus.
[11]
Dr J Reid
is a specialist. He is a neurologist. His expert
report is contained in the bundle of papers submitted to court in
terms of Rule
38(2). According to him, the Patient suffered the
following injuries:
Ongoing
problems:
[11.1] inability to stand
or walk.
[11.2] Drooping leads on
both sides, worse left.
[11.3] impaired vision.
[11.4] Unprovoked
aggression.
[11.5] Emotional
behaviour and personality change.
[11.6] altered speech.
[11.7] he is wearing
nappies.
DIAGNOSIS
Very severe brain
trauma with diffuse axonal shearing.
Hydrocephalus.
Profound
neurocognitive and neurological deficit.
According to him.
neurological diseases are irreversible. No further
surgical intervention will change the outcomes.
Neurosurgeons should
assess annually and pronounce on the need for revision of VP shunt.
He is at increased risk
for epilepsy, probably at least 4 times the statistical risk of the
general population. Annual follow up
by a neurologist is indicated.
He is of increased risk for meningitis while shunt is in situ.
T[...] cannot be
educated.
He will arrive in adult
life unemployable.
He will require round the
clock physical care from a responsible adult, for the rest of his
days.
Life expectancy is
probably restricted to approximately age 57. (His deficits are akin
to those of a cerebral palsy child). International
literature
addressing life expectancy in CP was used.
He will never enjoy the
pleasures of schooling, sport, relationships and independent career.
Injuries are classified
as very serious.
[12]
Dr. JS Sagor
is an orthopaedic surgeon. He provided the
Patient with his expert report. In his possession at the time he
assessed the Patient
and prepared his report were the following
documents:
[12.1] RAF Form.
[12.2] copy of the
hospital notes.
[12.3] a copy of medical
legal report by Doctor J Reid, a neurologist dated 23/02/2017.
Synopsis of injuries
suffered
[12.4] severe head injury
with initial GCS at 4T/15. He had a base of skull fracture as well as
an axonal injury to the brain.
[12.5] Fracture of the
pelvis involving the right inferior pubic ramus and right sacroiliac
joint.
[12.6] Blunt trauma to
the abdomen with a laceration to the liver.
PRESENT COMPLAINT
[12.7] He has severe
cognitive symptoms. He appears to react to his mother and possibly
understands certain commands.
[12.8] he is wheelchair
bound.
[12.9] He has a squint,
and it appears that his eye might have been affected. [12.10] he is
still incontinent and requires nappies.
CLINICAL EXAMINATION
CONDUCTED ON 28.09.2017
On examination on the
Patients on the 20
th
of September 2017 she made the
following discoveries:
[12.11] Bilateral squint.
[12.12] 1.5cm
tracheostomy scar cosmetically acceptable. [12.13] No suitable
response to inquiries.
[12.14] The Patient's
lower limbs flaccid. He has absent reflexes. There are no spasms in
the hip joints, knees or feet. He is unable
to stand or walk.
COMMENT ON DISABILITY
[12.15] The claimant
suffered from polytrauma.
[12.16] A severe head
injury was suffered. In this regard he referred to the neurologist 's
report. The abdominal injury has healed
and needs no further care.
The claimant has permanent permanently lost both amenities of life
and is disabled and functionally
impaired as a result of the head
injury suffered.
He is permanently
unemployable in future and will require care for the rest of his
life. Referred to the neurological assessment.
The claimant has been
permanently disabled and functionally impaired by the head injury
suffered. He will need constant care for
the rest of his life. In
this respect, he relied on the neurological assessment.
[13]
YOLANDE BEKKER
Yolanda
Becker is an educational psychologist. The purpose of referring the
Patient to this specialist was to assess the impact
of the
accident on his educational potential.
In
her report, she reiterates the background information provided by the
other experts.
Documents
in her possession at the time of the assessment.
[13.1] The Patient's ID.
[13.2] Hospital records
from Red Cross Hospital.
[13.3] Hospital records
from Groote Schuur Hospital.
[13.4] Narrative report
by R de Wit.
[13.5] Narrative report
by Dr D Ogilvy.
[13.6] Narrative report
by M Bester.
The
purpose of the documents in her possession was to ensure that at the
time of the assessment she had all the necessary documents
in her
hand. The assessment in such a case would be based on a proper
foundation.
According
to her assessment, the Patient was severely disabled, cognitively as
well as physically. He was unable to write, read
or speak. No
assessment could be completed. In this regard, she was echoing the
findings of Rennee de Wit, the clinical psychologist.
Based
on her assessment, the information obtained from other experts
reports and by her own experience, she was of opinion that
had the
accident not taken place, the Patient would have been able to
complete his great Grade 12(NQF level 4). He would have been
able to
apply for an act NSFAS bursary and continued to complete an NFQ level
6 (Diploma), if he applied himself.
She
believes that, after the accident, the Patient will not be able to
complete schooling and will remain illiterate.
[14]
RENNEE DE WIT
[14.1] Renne De Wit is a
Clinical Psychologist. The Patient was referred to him for the
purpose of assessing whether there were
any accident-related
psychological deficits. At the time of the assessment, he had all the
relevant documents in his possession.
He also made inquiries with the
teachers of the Patient. Accordingly, his assessment was based on the
documents before him and
the telephone conversations he had with the
Patient's teachers. And the situation about the Patient can be
gleaned from what Ms
Arendse of Saint Joseph's School informed Renee
DE Wit during a telephone conversation they had. During the said
conversation,
Ms. Arendse told the clinical psychologist that the
Patient was restless. Sometimes he did not want to sit in the
wheelchair; he
unfastened himself and tried to slip out of the chair.
When he is placed on the ground, he's all over the floor and attempts
to
leave the classroom. He's unable to complete the work on his own.
He needs one-on-one assistance, which unfortunately is not always
available. He is unable to write any words and cannot draw pictures.
He simply scribbles. He does not seem to learn and shows very
little
progress. His home language is Xhosa and his ability to communicate
in English is limited, which furthermore hampers his
ability to
learn. He is very disruptive in class. He will tear up papers, and
when given blocks to play with, he will throw them
at the other
learners. He often has "outbursts" and will scream very
loudly for no apparent reason. When his nappy is
changed, he often
cries for no apparent reason.
[14.2] ilt s to be noted
that Mr de Wit repeats in his report most of the findings made by
other experts with regard to regards
to the Patient's condition.
[14.3] In his second
report the following is what the clinical psychologist has reported.
This comes from the child's mother.
COGNITIVE
[14.3.1] His mother
reported that T[...] is a very slow learner and does not seem to
retain information that is taught, and he lacks
in terms of basic,
school taught knowledge. He cannot read or write, including his own
name.
[14.3.2] His memory
remains very poor.
[14.3.3] he continues to
experience expressive language difficulties, including unclear
speech, slow rate of speech, limited vocabulary,
he speaks at a loud
volume, he cannot stream together more than two to three words in a
sentence, and his speech often does not
make sense.
[14.3.4] he is slow to
understand, can only take in very short pieces of auditory verbal
information, and often requires repetition.
[14.3.5] he is sensitive
to noise.
CLINICAL
OBSERVATIONS AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
These
observations were made by the clinical psychologist when the Patient
was 14 years 2 months of age. The first assessment was
made on 9
November 2017 when the Patient was 5 years 8 months of age.
[14.4.1] formal testing
of the Patient was not possible.
[14.4.2] he was very
childlike and often laughed and was silly, like a young preschool
child would do.
[14.4.3] he seemed to
understand very little English and preferred to communicate in
isiXhosa. (This is not surprising because he
is not an English
person. He did not grow up speaking English. Naturally he speaks
isiXhosa. He had to be taught English. He had
not reached that stage
where he could be taught English). His speech was dysarthric, and he
could not string together more than
two to three words, the volume of
his speech was poorly controlled, and he spoke very loudly, and his
pronunciation was often indistinct.
He tended to perseverate certain
phrases.
[14.4.4] he did not know
his date of birth but knew that he is 14 years old. [14.4.5] He did
not know his mother's name.
[14.4.6] He did not know
the name of his teacher or the school that he attends.
[14.4.7] he could not
name any of the characters in the cartoons he enjoys watching on
television.
[14.4.8] he could not
write his own name. He was able to recognize his name, but not his
surname, when this was written down for
him.
[14.4.9] His drawing of a
man was very basic, like that of a toddler [only a head, eyes, body
and legs protruding from the body-
no nose, mouth, ears, hair, arms,
feet or hands). He perseverated drawing a few figures next to each
other. Some of these figures
did not have a body and eyes, only a
head and legs.
[14.4.10] he could not
consistently identify single digit numbers and guessed impulsively.
[14.4.11] He counted from
1 to 8 correctly before he skipped to the number 10. He was able to
count from 1 to 25 on the second trial
with some repetitions.
[14.4.12] he could not
solve simple addition problems; at times he guessed correctly but got
it wrong when he was asked again a
few minutes later.
[14.4.13] he could not
recite the days of the week without omissions.
15.
MITCHEL BESTER
[15.1] Mitchelle Bester
is an Occupational Therapist. In that capacity she is an expert. She
consulted with the Patient and compiled
her report on 2 November
2017. The purpose of the consultation was to establish the nature and
extent of the Patient's injuries
and the effect thereof and the
Patient's ability to participate in everyday activities, including
personal maintenance, leisure,
recreation and schooling; to discuss
the Patient's future treatment, assistive devices, adaptations and/or
assistance and the costs
thereof.
[15.2] In her report Ms.
Bester echoes the remarks of the other experts. She opined that the
Patient's physical and neurocognitive
limitations are of a permanent
nature. T[...] will be in a dependent position and unemployable for
the rest of his life.
16
ZAYNE DOMINGO.
Dr
Zayne Domingo is a neurosurgeon who practises at Westlake Square,
Westlake Drive, Westlake. He had consultation with the Patient
and
reported this assessment of the Patient on 9 July 2024. During
consultation with the Patient, he discovered, during the Central
Nervous System examination, that the Patient:
[16.1] was disorientated.
[16.2] was cognitively
slow and had difficulty understanding instructions.
[16.3] the Patient's
behaviour was childlike with inappropriate laughter.
[16.4] had poor speech
with dysarthria and dysphasia.
[16.5] had bilateral
third nerve palsies with divergent squint on the right.
[16.6] was unable to open
the left eyelid(complete ptosis).
[16.7] had poor upper
limb coordination with past pointing and intention tremor.
[16.8] had poor leg
coordination.
In his opinion, there was
a significant blow to the head as evidenced by the extensive skull
base fracture.
Based on his initial
level of consciousness and prolonged period of post-traumatic
amnesia, the Patient has sustained a severe traumatic
brain injury.
The CT scan confirmed the
presence of structural brain injury with multiple hemorrhage
contusions, in addition to cerebral swelling.
The documented
hypotension, hypoxia and raised intracranial pressure would have
resulted in additional secondary brain damage. He
required
intubation, ventilation and prolonged rehabilitation. The Patient has
been left with significant residual physical disabilities.
He has
poor hand coordination and is wheelchair bound. He has significant
residual cognitive, cognitive-communicative and behavioral
deficits
in keeping with the nature and severity of the reported deficits have
been confirmed on formal neuropsychological and
speech and language
assessment. As a consequence of his cognitive and
cognitive-communicative deficits, he has been unable to attend
mainstream schooling and has been placed in a school for learners
with special education needs. He remains illiterate. His physical
and
cognitive deficits are now permanent. The Patient remains at risk of
developing late post traumatic seizures. Provision
will need to
be made for the investigation and lifelong treatment of seizures.
With regard to the RAF 4, he stated that the Patient
has sustained a
severe traumatic brain injury with associated intracranial haemorrage
that has resulted in significant residual
physical, cognitive,
communicative and behavioral problems. As a consequence of his
deficits, he is unable to attend mainstream
schooling and will remain
illiterate. According to Dr Domingo, when one applies the Narrative
Test, the Patient's injury can be
considered to be severe and he will
continue to suffer a permanent and serious long-term impairment in
respect of his work and
personal life.
As a consequence of his
significant physical, cognitive, communicative and behavioral
problems, the Patient will be unable to be
educated and will remain
illiterate. He is permanently disabled and is unemployable in the
open labour market.
[17]
it is quite evident from the experts I have referred to here in the
above and to those I have
not referred to, but whose expert reports
have been filed of record in this matter and to the clinical records
of the hospitals
referred to above that the Patient has, because of
the accident in question, suffered massive serious head injuries. It
is also
quite evident that those brain injuries have changed his
character quite materially and permanently. The Patient now has some
material
defects he was not born with, a consequence of the accident.
[18]
The Plaintiffs legal team have sought the assistance of some
actuaries to determine the amount
of compensation that should be
awarded to the Patient. This is so because the Patient's legal team
does not have the ability to
work out such an award. The court too is
not imbued with the ability to determine such an award or to
calculate the present value
of the future income that, but for the
disability, should be awarded to the Patient.According to the
Plaintiffs counsel's supplementary
heads of argument, the relevant
actuarial report is dated 23rd October 2024. The contents of this
document were placed before court
on 24 October 2024.
[19]
The actuaries were instructed to estimate the capital value of the
potential loss of earnings
suffered by the Patient due to an accident
that occurred on 11 January 2016. The actuarial report is based on
information supplied
to the actuaries by the Patient's attorneys.
Furthermore, it is based on generally accepted actuarial method
employed by the actuaries
in the field and on assumptions made. The
basis of the calculation was that the Patient was expected to remain
unemployed for the
rest of his remaining life.
[20]
The actuaries were instructed to apply the uninjured contingency of
20% on future earnings. They
established that the Patient total loss
of earnings was R7, 713, 480, 00. They also found that the
application of the
RAF Amendment Act cap in this loss scenario did
not have an impact on the Patient's claim.
[21]
Therefore, in respect of future loss of earnings the Plaintiff
claimed an amount of R7, 713,
480.00. It is of Paramount in
importance to point out that the Defendant had confirmed that it was
satisfied that the Patient qualified
for general damages.
[22]
The Plaintiffs legal representatives were satisfied with the
actuarial calculation.
In
support of such calculation, they have referred this court to various
decisions. These are the cases of:
[22.1]
Bonesse v RAF
2014(743) QOD 1 (ECP)
of the Port Elizabeth High Court handed
down on 20 February 2014. In this matter Pickering J, awarded general
damages of R2, 500,
00 0.00 to a 19-year-old lady who was involved at
13 years of age in a collision in which suffered serious bodily
injuries. WPI
was 93%. This young lady had suffered a severe closed
head injury; multiple rib fractures and haemopneumothorax; burst
fracture
of the thoracic spine; and injury to the spinal cord causing
paraplegia. Burr-hole procedure, thoracotomy, spinal decompression
and spinal fusion procedures were carried out. The young lady was
found to be wheel-chair dependent with limited ability to manage
bi-manual tasks and incontinent of urine and bowel. Post-traumatic
dementia with severely compromised speech, vision, memory and
executive function. Dyscontrol syndrome typical of frontal dementia
with an inclination to become aggressive, disinhibited and
emotionally isolated. A schoolgirl with a promising scholastic and
vocational future. Rendered uneducable and unemployable. The
current
value of R2, 500,000.00 referred to herein above is now w R4,145,000,
00.
[22.2] The second
judgment upon which the Plaintiff's legal representatives relied was
Mertz v RAF 2023 (8A2) QOD 6 (GNP)
, in which the Full Court of
the Pretoria High Court, on 22 December 2022, awarded general images
of R3, 500, 000.00 with the current
value of R4, 288, 000.00 (as per
QOD 2024), to an adult woman rendered a tetraplegic as a consequence
of serious injuries suffered
in a motor vehicle collision.
See
also
Adv AJ Du Toit N.O. obo Cee-Jay Lee Johnson v The Road
Accident Fund (20147/2021) Gauteng Division, Pretoria (13 April 2024)
where the court stated that the Plaintiff has only one shot at
obtaining due compensation from the Defendant and the Plaintiff's
whole life depends on obtaining a proper award. I agree with the
Plaintiff's counsel that the injuries that the Patient suffered
include severe traumatic brain injury with significant neurocognitive
and physical deficits; chest injuries with pulmonary
consolidation/contuse;
abdominal injuries with lever lacerations,
multiple pelvic fractures and WPI - 83%.
[23]
As stated earlier the only issue that this quote has to do with was
the child's loss of earnings
and how to calculate such loss of
earnings. The matter was postponed to 25 October 2024 for the purpose
of enabling the Defendants
to obtain its own actuarial report.
According to the Plaintiffs’ counsel, the Defendant's report
has indeed been obtained,
but a closer look at it shows that the
Defendant's experts agree with the Plaintiffs experts. The difference
lies in the calculations.
[24]
Counsel for the Plaintiff submitted that the correct way was to work
on the qualification the
experts have agreed upon. The Defendant
wants to change the method of calculation by introducing the NQF4,
NQF5 and NQF6 qualifications.
According to the Plaintiff’s
counsel, you cannot do so, because it requires the court to take the
average of three qualifications.
According to him, you cannot
introduce matriculation if you deal with a diploma. Ms Nelufuleni,
counsel for the Defendant, was
unhappy with the method of calculation
of the award. She referred to two scenarios, scenario 1, in which the
Actuaries had determined
the amount of the award at R7,713,840.00 and
scenario 2, in which the Actuaries had made the determination of the
award at R4,
635,280.00 as prepared by Munro Forensic Actuaries. Ms
Neluheni informed the court that the Defendant relied on the joint
minutes
of the Industrial Psychologists. In their report, the
Actuaries had indicated that they had based their calculation of loss
of
earnings on information supplied to them by the Plaintiff’s
attorneys, on the joint minutes of the industrial psychologists,
Kotze K and T van Wyk, dated 16-22 October 2024. Ms Nelufeni did not
complain about this statement. There was no argument from
her that
the actuaries did not take the joint minutes of the industrial
psychologists into account. The actuaries were aware of
the
differences in opinion of the industrial psychologists. Furthermore,
there was no complaint that the Actuaries did not take
all the
relevant factors into account or that the took irrelevant factors
into account. No other expert actuarial report to contradict
Munro
Forensic Actuarial report was placed before the court. The duty lay
on the Defendant to satisfy this court that the amount
of
R7,713,840.00, as determined by the actuaries and postulated by the
Plaintiffs legal team.was grossly extravagant or unreasonable.
[25]
I have already pointed out somewhere supra that neither the court nor
the Defendant is equipped
with the ability to work out the amount of
damages to be awarded to the Plaintiff. Counsel for the Plaintiff
argued that the Defendant's
method of calculation left a shortfall of
R3 million. I acted on the basis of the first scenario because,
taking all the circumstances
in this case into consideration, the
amount of R7,713,840.00 was, in my judgment, fair and reasonable.
This
judgment contains the reasons for the order handed down on 25 OCTOBER
2024.
PM
MABUSE
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
Appearances.
Counsel
for the Plaintiff:
Adv F
Ras SC
Instructed
by:
Messrs
Savage, Jooste & Adams
Attorney
for the Defendant:
Attorney
LE Nelufuleni
Instructed
by:
The
State Attorney, Pretoria
Date
of hearing:
24
October 2024
Date
of Order:
24
October 2024
Reasons
furnished on:
20
May 2025
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