Case Law[2022] ZAGPJHC 425South Africa
Kriel v Road Accident Fund (2020/6446) [2022] ZAGPJHC 425 (21 June 2022)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
21 June 2022
Judgment
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# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
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## Kriel v Road Accident Fund (2020/6446) [2022] ZAGPJHC 425 (21 June 2022)
Kriel v Road Accident Fund (2020/6446) [2022] ZAGPJHC 425 (21 June 2022)
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sino date 21 June 2022
REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA,
GAUTENG
DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
CASE
NO: 2020/6446
REPORTABLE:
NO
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED:
NO
21
June 2022
In
the matter between:
DESMOND
KRIEL
PLAINTIFF
and
ROAD
ACCIDENT FUND
DEFENDANT
JUDGMENT
Olivier
AJ:
[1]
This is an action for damages in terms of the Road Accident
Fund Act
56 of 1996 (‘Act 56 of 1996’). Desmond Kriel (the
‘Plaintiff’) sustained bodily injuries from
a motor
vehicle collision which occurred on 30 June 2018. The Plaintiff was a
passenger at the time of the collision.
[2]
Following the collision, the Plaintiff lost consciousness
and was
taken by ambulance to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where he was
hospitalised.
[3]
The Plaintiff suffered
a mild traumatic
brain injury; C2 transverse process fracture; soft tissue injury to
the back; a crushed right forearm, with comminuted
(multiple bone
splinters) right radius and ulna fracture and vascular injury of the
radial artery; neurological deficit of the
right forearm; and an
injury of the right shoulder. He underwent various procedures to
treat his injuries.
[4]
The Road Accident Fund (the ‘Defendant’)
has conceded
liability for 100 per cent of the Plaintiff’s proved damages.
The Defendant has agreed to provide the Plaintiff
with an undertaking
in terms of s 17(4)(a) of Act 56 of 1996 in respect of all the
Plaintiff’s future hospital and medical
expenses.
[5]
The outstanding issues are general damages and loss of
earnings.
Expert
reports
[6]
The Plaintiff relies on the following expert reports,
namely: Dr H.
E. T. Van Den Bout (Orthopaedic Surgeon); Dr J. H. Kruger
(Neurosurgeon); Dr B. A. Longano (Psychiatrist); Dr A.P.J.
Botha
(Specialist Physician); Ms K. Du Toit (Occupational Therapist); Ms L.
Theron (Industrial Psychologist); and Gerard Jacobson
Consulting
Actuaries.
[7]
The Defendant produced no expert reports and
presented no evidence.
The facts and opinions of the reports
of the Plaintiff’s experts must be taken to have been admitted
by the Defendant, except
that
the Defendant
disputes the pre-accident earnings of the Plaintiff recorded in the
Industrial Psychologist’s report.
[8]
As a result of the injuries, the Plaintiff experiences
stiffness of
the right shoulder, right elbow, right wrist and right hand; severe
weakness of the right arm; pain over the right
upper arm, elbow and
forearm; numbness of the right forearm and hand; no motor function of
the right arm and hand; patchy sensation
of the right forearm; severe
deformity of the right forearm; severe depression; impaired
concentration; and short-term memory loss.
[9]
The Plaintiff wears a sling, due to his severely deformed
right arm.
According to Dr Botha, the specialist physician,
the Plaintiff’s right arm is totally non-functional and there
is no prognosis
for the return of any function. He has lost all
ability to perform tasks which require bilateral hand function. Dr
van den Bout,
the
orthopaedic surgeon,
states
in his report that the Plaintiff has lost all function of his
dominant right upper limb, and that he will have chronic pain
for the
rest of his life. The Plaintiff told Ms du Toit, the occupational
therapist, that he wants his arm amputated because the
pain is too
severe and it ’gets in the way’.
This aligns with
the medical opinion of
Dr van den Bout that the
Plaintiff would best be served by an amputation of the right arm
above the elbow.
Plaintiff’s
evidence
[10]
Three witnesses testified for the Plaintiff: Mr
Pieter Coetzee, Ms Lorette Theron and the Plaintiff himself. Mr
Coetzee is the owner
of Coetzee and Associates. The Plaintiff and
Coetzee had worked together in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) in 2012,
and then again in Kimberley in 2018. He was also a
friend of the Plaintiff’s late father. Ms Theron is a
registered Industrial
Psychologist who interviewed the Plaintiff and
prepared a report.
[11]
The Plaintiff is an adult male, born on 5 October 1985. He was 32
years old
at the time of the accident and is presently 36 years old.
He is unmarried. He
testified about his
qualifications, employment history, professional experience, work
earnings, the impact of the accident on his
health and physical
condition, and how this has affected his future career prospects.
[12]
According to the report of the industrial
psychologist the Plaintiff left school in 2005 with a Grade 10
qualification. In the same
year he completed a call centre
telemarketer course and worked in that capacity for three months. He
was incarcerated early in
2006 and after his release in 2007 he was
unemployed until June 2009, when he took up work as a welder’s
assistant for three
months. He completed a welding course at the
Randfontein Welding School in October 2009. He was hereafter again
unemployed for
more or less eight months. He regained employment in
June 2010. He was intermittently employed as a welder from this time
up to
the date of the accident, doing mostly short-term contract work
ranging from three to six months at a time. However, he was not
employed at all during 2017.
[13]
His last employment prior to the accident was in
Kimberley. Coetzee, as sub-contractor, had contracted him as a welder
on a project
for Lumacon Construction, at the Robert Sobukwe
Hospital. Coetzee testified that they had concluded a verbal
contract, which contradicts
the Plaintiff’s testimony that he
had signed a contract.
[14]
Coetzee’s contract with Lumacon Construction
had started in November 2017, but the Plaintiff had joined only
during January
2018. Coetzee testified that he had terminated
Plaintiff’s contract sometime in April or May, due to the
project coming to
an end. The Plaintiff had worked on the project for
only four to five months.
[15]
The Plaintiff had told the industrial psychologist
that he had earned a salary of R 20 000 per month for the duration of
the contract.
This he repeated in his testimony. The correctness of
this amount was disputed by the Defendant. Coetzee corroborated the
Plaintiff’s
evidence in this regard, testifying that he had
paid the Defendant R20 000 per month, ‘all inclusive’
with no deductions.
[16]
There is, unfortunately, a dearth of
conclusive supporting documentation. The bank statement submitted to
the industrial psychologist
shows three relevant deposits over a
period of two months: 27 March (R 4 500 – reference:
Kimberley); 2 May (R 12 000 –
reference: Kimberley payment);
and 23 May (R 7 200 – reference: cash deposit). The three
deposits total R 23 700. There were
no deposits in April. R 19 200
was deposited in May.
[17]
The Plaintiff explained that sometimes his wages
would be paid in cash. This was confirmed by Coetzee, although he
could not remember
how many times he had paid the Plaintiff in cash.
The Plaintiff explained further that some of his monthly earnings had
been paid
to his mother by Coetzee, but that he didn’t know why
Coetzee had done so. Coetzee confirmed that sometimes he had paid a
part of the Plaintiff’s earnings to the Plaintiff’s
mother, but this had been done with the Plaintiff’s knowledge
and approval. There is, however, no proof of payment to the mother.
[18]
The Plaintiff said during cross-examination that
he had received a pay slip for his salary, but that he had left it
behind in Kimberley.
This would indicate that there is better
evidence available on this point which was not provided to Ms Theron.
The Plaintiff’s
testimony regarding the pay slip was not
confirmed by Mr Coetzee.
[19]
The testimony of the Plaintiff on his pre-accident
earnings was confusing and contradictory. I return to this further
below.
Career development
[20]
In respect of pre-morbid progression, Ms Theron
explained that the Plaintiff had progressed rapidly in his career,
qualifying and
gaining experience in specialized welding over the ten
years prior to the accident. According to her he would have developed
further
and likely would have reached his career ceiling at age 45.
He would likely have advanced from welder to chargehand or foreman,
and later to supervisor by the age of 45. He would probably have
worked until retirement age 65, considering that he was in good
health prior to the accident.
[21]
Coetzee had
told Ms
Theron that the hourly wage of a welder depended on the employer, but
that generally a
normal ‘stig’
welder would earn R 90—100/h, a dairy and brewery welder R
120/h, and a petrochemical welder R 150/h.
A chargehand would earn
around R 135/h, a foreman R 150/h, and a supervisor R 180—220/h.
[22]
Ms Theron’s report stated that according to
the PE Corporate Services Salary Survey a welder earns at the
C1-level on the
Paterson-derived Grading scale, while a
foreman/supervisor earns at the C2-level. According to
The
Quantum Yearbook 2020
by Dr R J Koch,
an artisan would earn within the following range per annum: R 86 000
– R 186 000 – R 374 000 (representing
the lower, medium,
and upper quartile respectively).
[23]
In Ms Theron’s opinion the PE Corporate
Salary Survey and the
Quantum Yearbook
earnings ranges are insufficiently accurate to determine the
Plaintiff’s earning progression. She recommends that the
real-time
salary information provided by Coetzee is used, as it is
the most practical and applicable earnings in the present case. I
accept
her recommendation. Mr Coetzee has decades of experience in
the industry and is himself a contractor who employs welders for
projects.
I have no reason to doubt his knowledge, experience or
objectivity, although it would have been preferable had the
information
been provided by some other industry specialist who was
not a witness for the Plaintiff.
[24]
The Plaintiff worked only in contract positions
and his pre-accident earnings fluctuated and were also influenced by
labour broker
policies.
[25]
In Ms Theron’s opinion t
he Plaintiff
would probably have progressed to an average of R 200/h as supervisor
at age 45 (his ceiling). From there he would
probably have received
annual inflationary increases until retirement.
Employability
[26]
Ms Theron reports that the Plaintiff has been severely compromised by
the accident
and
sequelae
. He is no longer able to work as a
welder and will not reach his career and earnings potential. His
options for employment are,
as a result, greatly reduced. She
concludes that he cannot work in any physical capacity and is not
suited for an alternative sedentary
career, and that the combination
of physical, psychological, and cognitive difficulties has rendered
him unemployable in the labour
market.
Dr Botha
and Ms du Toit agree that the Plaintiff will never be able to
work again,
not even as a telemarketer, as
suggested by the Defendant.
Ms du Toit concludes that
the
Plaintiff’s working career has been truncated and that he is
not expected to return to work in future given his physical
psychological and cognitive presentation.
[27]
I am satisfied that the Plaintiff is unemployable
in the open labour market as concluded by the experts.
Earning capacity and
loss of earnings
[28]
There
is a conceptual difference between a plaintiff suffering an
impairment of earning capacity, and a plaintiff suffering a loss
of
earnings in the future.
[1]
[29]
The Plaintiff must first show that his earning
capacity has been impaired. There are essentially two scenarios:
either
the Plaintiff has been rendered unable to work due the
accident and this situation will continue for the rest of his life;
or, whilst
the Plaintiff will still be able to work, he has incurred
a diminished work capacity that will render him unable to work until
his normal retirement.
[30]
It
is incumbent on the Plaintiff to prove that the reduction of the
earning capacity will result in actual loss of income.
[2]
The
court requires good evidence to make this determination. There must
be some reasonable basis for arriving at a particular figure.
[31]
In
Goldie
v City Council of Johannesburg
[3]
the court made the following relevant observations:
[I]n the case where it is
necessary to award compensation for loss of future earnings, I have
difficulty in appreciating what better
starting point there can be
than the present value of the future earnings which the Plaintiff has
been prevented from earning.
From this point proper allowance must be
made for contingencies, but if the fundamental principle of an award
of damages under
lex Aquilia
is compensation for patrimonial
loss, then it seems to me that one must try to ascertain the value of
what was lost on some logical
basis and not impulse or by guesswork.
[32]
In
Terblanche
v Minister of Safety and Security
[4]
Mayat
AJA stated:
The difficulty with
claims of this nature is generally not so much the recognition that
earning capacity constitutes an asset in
a person's estate, but
rather the quantification of the monetary value of the loss of
earning capacity by a trial court.
Each case naturally depends on
its own facts and circumstances, as well as the evidence before the
trial court concerned.
(my emphasis)
[33]
In
Hersman
v Shapiro and Company
[5]
Stratford J remarked as follows:
Monetary damage having
been suffered, it is necessary for the Court to assess the amount and
make the best use it can of the evidence
before it. There are cases
where the assessment by the Court is little more than an estimate;
but even so,
if it is certain that pecuniary damage has been
suffered, the Court is bound to award damages.
(my emphasis)
[A court] is not so bound
in the case where evidence is available to the Plaintiff which he has
not produced; in those circumstances
the Court is justified in
giving, and does give, absolution from the instance. But where the
best evidence available has been produced,
though it is not entirely
of a conclusive character and does not permit of a mathematical
calculation of the damage suffered, still,
if it is the best evidence
available, the Court must use it and arrive at a conclusion based on
it.
[34]
There is an issue with some of the evidence in the
present case. The Plaintiff was not a good witness; his testimony was
vague and
evasive on some points. There is contradictory evidence
regarding the Plaintiff’s contract with Coetzee, specifically
in
respect of how the contract was concluded, how payment was made,
whether payments were made to the Plaintiff’s mother, and
the
duration of the agreement. In respect of his earnings immediately
before the accident, the documentary evidence is not conclusive.
[35]
Plaintiff’s counsel contended that most of
the contradictions are immaterial as the primary issue for the court
to decide
is the post-accident career path of the Plaintiff to
determine his loss of earnings. It was submitted that the
Plaintiff’s
progress to R200/h was not really disputed, and that Ms Theron
provided well-founded reasons for her projections.
It was immaterial
to the determination of loss of earnings whether
payments
had been made to the Plaintiff’s mother, or how his salary was
paid. The court has everything it needs to assess
the loss of
earnings, according to the Plaintiff’s counsel.
[36]
Coetzee confirmed that he had paid the Plaintiff
an ‘all inclusive’ salary of R 20 000/h for the duration
of the contract.
Coetzee was a good witness and I accept his
corroboration. The absence of conclusive documentary proof of
earnings is unfortunate,
but not fatal. Although the bank statements
submitted do not fully corroborate a salary of R 20 000, they do show
earnings in the
general vicinity.
[37]
The
situation in the present case is different from that in
Mlotshwa
v RAF
,
for example, where the court ordered absolution from the instance, as
the plaintiff had presented no documentary or other corroborative
evidence of his earnings.
[6]
In
the present case the evidence produced by the Plaintiff is sufficient
to establish whether damage has been suffered, and to
determine the
amount of compensation. As set out in
Hersman
“
if
it is certain that pecuniary damage has been suffered, the Court is
bound to award damages.”
[7]
[38]
The
approach to actuarial calculations and contingencies was recently
explained in
Road
Accident Fund v Kerridge
:
[8]
[41]
Courts have used actuarial calculations in an attempt to estimate the
monetary value of the loss. These calculations are obviously
dependent on the accuracy of the factual information provided by
the various witnesses. In order to address life's unknown
future
hazards, an actuary will usually suggest that a court should
determine the appropriate contingency deduction. ...
[42]
Contingencies are arbitrary and also highly subjective. It can be
described no better than the oft-quoted passage in
Goodall v
President Insurance Co Ltd
where the court said: 'In
the assessment of a proper allowance for contingencies,
arbitrary considerations must
inevitably play a part, for the
art or science of foretelling the future, so confidently practiced by
ancient prophets and soothsayers,
and by authors of a certain type of
almanack, is not numbered among the qualifications for judicial
office.'
[43]
It is for this reason that a trial court has a wide discretion when
it comes to determining contingencies. An appeal court
will
therefore be slow to interfere with a contingency award of a trial
court and impose its own subjective estimates. …
[39]
The actuarial report was compiled by Gerard
Jacobson Consulting Actuaries in Johannesburg. The calculations are
based on the information
provided by the industrial psychologist.
Kriel was earning R 20 000 at the time of the accident which
translates to approximately R 115/h over a 40-hour week. Plaintiff
would have progressed to chargehand (at R 135/h) to foreman (at R
150/h) to supervisor (at R 200/h). Annual inflationary increased
would apply thereafter until retirement age 65.
[40]
He calculated that the Plaintiff had suffered past
loss of R 677 518 and that his future loss will be R 6 067 356.
[41]
Defendant’s counsel correctly pointed out
that the Plaintiff was not in full-time employment at the time of the
accident.
His employment record is ‘patchy’. He has never
been permanently employed and has experienced long periods of
unemployment.
He did not work at all during 2017. This is a
significant factor in determining an appropriate contingency
percentage.
[42]
Plaintiff’s counsel presented two scenarios
to the court: first, a 15% contingency in respect of past and future
loss (essentially,
0.5% per year until retirement age)
,
which would be in accordance with the usual contingency
determinations. This would bring the loss of earnings
to R 5
733 142,90; and
second, in the alternative, a
30% contingency to cater for the
Defendant’s concerns
about the Plaintiff’s employment history, salary, and prospects
of promotion, resulting in a loss
of earnings of R 4 721 411,80.
[43]
Defendant’s counsel argued that the
Plaintiff should not be awarded any compensation for past loss of
earnings, and that in
respect of future earnings, a contingency of
50% should be applied. This would result in a total loss of earnings
of R 3 033 678.
[44]
There
is no reason why the Plaintiff should not be awarded past loss of
earnings. And as I have stated above, an appropriate contingency
percentage can compensate for an uneven employment record, both in
respect of past and future loss of earnings. In
AA
Mutual Insurance Association Ltd v Maqula
the
court applied a contingency of 50% due to an unstable employment
record.
[9]
And recently, in
Mbokazi
v Minister of Police
,
the court applied a contingency of 50% as the Plaintiff had produced
no proof of income and had held insecure employment prior
to the
event.
[10]
[45]
The present case is distinguishable. A higher than
usual contingency rate is required, but 50 % would be too high and
punitive under
the circumstances.
[46]
In my opinion a contingency of 35% should be
applied in respect of both past and future loss of earnings. I
consider it to be fair
and appropriate under the circumstances.
[47]
The calculation is therefore as follows:
a.
Past loss of earnings:
R 677 518
minus R
237 131,30 for a total of R 440 386,70.
b.
Future loss of earnings: R
6 067 356 minus R
2
123 574,60 for a total of R 3 943 781,40.
c.
TOTAL LOSS OF EARNINGS: R 4 384 168,10.
General
damages
[48]
In
Maqula
[11]
the then-Appellate Division held that
it is settled law that a
trial Court has a wide discretion to award what it in the particular
circumstances considers to be a fair
and adequate compensation to the
injured party for his bodily injuries and their
sequelae
.
[49]
The determination of general damages is fraught
with difficulty and needs to be undertaken with great care and
circumspection.
It is trite that each case must be assessed on
its own merits and that no case is factually the same as another.
A
court must guard against misplaced emotion overshadowing a rational
attempt to fix an award based on facts. Past awards offer
guidance;
they are instructive but not conclusive. No two cases are ever truly
alike.
[50]
Plaintiff’s counsel submitted that R 1
million should be awarded as general damages. In support, he referred
me to the following
cases:
a.
Mokakale
v Road Accident Fund
:
[12]
the Plaintiff, an adult male, had a traumatic amputation of his right
arm above the elbow, fracture of the right femur, injury
to the knee,
urethral injury, and injury to the right foot. He was awarded R 1 100
000 in 2013 (present value R 1 615 000). It
is unclear whether the
amputated arm was his dominant arm.
b.
Rens v
MEC for Health
:
[13]
the Plaintiff was a 22-year-old man who suffered an above-elbow
amputation of the left arm and subsequent re-amputation through
the
shoulder. He was awarded R 600 000 in 2009 (present value R 1 100
000). This is a similar kind of amputation which the Plaintiff
intends to have (above the elbow), except that Rens’s arm was
later amputated through the shoulder. No doubt the later amputation
was a factor in the determination of the award. Plaintiff’s
counsel submitted that
Rens
is closest to the present case.
c.
D v Road
Accident Fund
:
[14]
the Plaintiff was 47 years old at the time of the trial and his
injuries consisted of a mild concussive brain injury with reports
of
poor memory and concentration, fracture of the right femur, injury to
the right hip and abrasions of the right knee. He was
awarded R 600
000 in damages in 2017 (present value R660 000).
d.
Nkosi v
Minister of Police:
[15]
the Plaintiff, 26 years old at the time of the incident, was shot in
his dominant right forearm, shattering both his radius and
ulna. The
extensor tendons and flexor tendons caused neurological damage. His
hand developed a permanent claw presentation, he
had weak hand
muscles and loss of sensation over parts of the hand. He was awarded
R 750 000 in 2019 (present value R 850 000).
Counsel submitted that
Nkosi’s injuries were less severe than the Plaintiff’s.
[51]
Defendant’s counsel argued that R 750 000 is
a fair and reasonable amount for general damages. She referred me to
the following
cases:
a.
Mdunge
v MMF
:
[16]
Plaintiff sustained injuries to his left arm and eyes. The nerves
that conduct signals from the spinal cord to the left shoulder,
arm
and hand were damaged, rendering his left arm flail and completely
useless, resulting in permanent loss of the eye and arm.
He was
awarded R 180 000 in 1998 (present value R 600 000).
b.
Defendant’s
counsel also relied on
Nkosi
in
support of her argument
.
[17]
[52]
The cases advanced by Plaintiff’s counsel
resemble the facts of the present case more closely. In three of
them, the Plaintiff
had suffered some degree of amputation.
In
casu
, medical opinion favours
amputation.
[53]
The sum proposed by the Plaintiff is too high and
that proposed by the Defendant is too low. Taking into consideration
all relevant
factors and circumstances, I am of the view that an
award of R 900 000 for general damages is fair and reasonable.
[54]
In summary, the Defendant must pay the Plaintiff
the total sum of R 5 284 168,10: R 4 384 168,10
for loss of
earnings, and R 900 000 for general damages.
[55]
The Defendant’s liability for costs is stated in the order
below.
Order
[56]
The following order issues:
a.
The Defendant shall pay to the Plaintiff an
amount of R 900 000 (nine
hundred thousand rand) in respect of general damages, and
R
4 384 168,10
in respect of past and future loss of
earnings (total: R 5 284 168,10) within 14 days from date
of this order;
b.
Interest on the aforesaid amount calculated
from the day following
the lapse of a period of 14 days from the date of the granting of
this order to date of final payment, in
accordance with the
Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55 of 1975
, read with
section
17(3)(a)
of the
Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996
, as amended;
c.
The Defendant shall furnish the Plaintiff
with an undertaking as
envisaged in Section 17(4)(a) of the Act in respect of the costs of
the future accommodation of the Plaintiff
in a hospital or nursing
home or treatment of or rendering of a service to him or supplying of
goods to him arising out of the
injuries sustained by him in the
motor vehicle collision which occurred on 30 June 2018.
d.
The Defendant shall pay the Plaintiff’s
costs of the suit, as
taxed or agreed, on a scale as between party and party, such costs to
include the costs of Counsel employed
on behalf of the Plaintiff,
including preparation, consultations with witnesses as well as the
trial held on 12 April 2022 and
13 April 2022, and furthermore costs
incurred in respect of the reports, addendums, joint minutes,
appearances and reservation
fees, if any, of the following expert
witnesses:-
i.
Dr. H. E. T Van Den Bout
– Orthopaedic Surgeon;
ii.
Dr. J. H. Kruger - Neurosurgeon;
iii.
Dr. B. A. Longano –
Psychiatrist;
iv.
Dr. A.P.J. Botha –
Specialist Physician
v.
Ms. K. Du Toit – Occupational
Therapist;
vi.
Ms. L. Theron – Industrial
Psychologist; and
vii.
Mr. G. W. Jacobson –
Consulting Actuary.
e.
In the event of the costs above in paragraph
(d) not being agreed,
the Plaintiff’s bill of costs will be served on the Defendants,
and the taxed bill of costs will be
payable within 14 (fourteen) days
after taxation.
f.
The compensation payments and
costs referred to in paragraphs (a) and
(d) above, are to be made in the Plaintiff’s attorneys’
trust banking account,
the details of which are as follows: A.F. VAN
WYK MABITSELA WILLIAMS INC Trust Banking Account: Name: AF VAN WYK
MABITSELA WILLIAMS
INC.
Bank: FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Branch: SOUTHDALE
Type of account: TRUST
Cheque Account Number:
[....]
Branch Code: [....]
Fax: (011) 680-3421
E-mail:
admin@afvanwyk.co.za
Reference: K38/18/AVW.
g.
The Plaintiff and his attorneys, A. F. Van
Wyk Mabitsela Williams
Inc., have concluded a valid fee agreement in terms of the
Contingency Fees Act 66 of 1997
. A copy of said agreement is attached
hereto as Annexure “A”.
M
Olivier
Acting
Judge of the High Court
Gauteng
Local Division, Johannesburg
This
judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the parties
and/or parties’ representatives by email and by
upload to
CaseLines. The date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 14h00 on
21 June 2022.
Date
of hearing:
12—13 April 2022
Date
of judgment:
21 June 2022
Appearances:
On
behalf of the Plaintiff:
D. Combrink
Instructed
by:
A. F. Van Wyk Mabitsela Williams Inc
On
behalf of the Defendant:
T. Mathebula
Instructed by:
State Attorney
[1]
See generally in this regard
Chakela
v Road Accident Fund
[2017] ZAGPJHC 141.
[2]
Rudman
v Road Accident Fund
2003
(2) SA 234
(SCA) at para 11.
[3]
1948 (3) SA 913
(W) at 920.
[4]
2016 (2) SA 109
(SCA) at para 14.
[5]
1926 TPD 367
at 379-380.
[6]
[2017] ZAGPPHC 109 (29 March 2017).
[7]
Supra
note
5 at 379.
[8]
2019 (2) SA 233
(SCA) at paras 41 to 43.
[9]
1978
(1) SA 805
(A).
[10]
[2020] ZAGPPHC 286 (10 June 2020).
[11]
Supra
note 9
at 809A-B.
[12]
[2013] ZAGPPHC 156 (12 June 2013).
[13]
[2009] ZANCHC 10
(17 April 2009).
[14]
[2017] ZAGPJHC 61 (3 March 2017).
[15]
[2019] ZAGPJHC 285 (22 August 2019).
[16]
1
998
(4J2) QOD 145 (N).
[17]
Supra
note 15.
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