A Cape Town law firm – W Van Der Schyff Attorneys – has been found to have been negligent in dealing with a Road Accident Fund (RAF) damages claim by its client, an ambulance driver involved in a collision in 2011.
William van der Schyff, who was responsible for pursuing the claim against the RAF, was also found to have breached the mandate due to the negligence, reports the Cape Times.
Donovan Moose claimed that because of the lawyer’s breach of the agreement – or the breach of its legal duty to him – his RAF claim had prescribed as the lawyer had wrongfully and negligently failed to prosecute the RAF claim timeously and within the statutory time of five years.
Moose was driving an ambulance in August 2011 in Athlone when a vehicle collided with him. Moose, who was seriously injured, alleged that the collision was caused by the sole negligence of the other driver. He then approached the Cape Town law firm, giving it the mandate to execute the claim.
However, in a rebuttal, Van Der Schyff said that he had always acted upon instructions from Moose and added that he could not take any further steps as Moose did not contact him timeously or at all, for him to proceed with issuing summons against the RAF.
But he accepted that his mandate was to pursue the claim to its fullest and that he had not issued summons against the fund within five years of the accident or at all.
Western Cape High Court Acting Judge Frederick Sievers said: “The plaintiff has established that the defendant failed to prosecute his claim … by issuing a summons timeously and that this was a wrongful and negligent breach of the agreement and the defendant’s duty of care.”
The judgment noted: “Van Der Schyff acknowledged that the plaintiff was a layperson and had no knowledge of the regulations and time limits in respect of the Road Accident Fund, and … was relying on (his lawyer’s) guidance. Van Der Schyff conceded that a reasonable attorney in his circumstances, knowing that a claim was going to prescribe, had a duty to ensure that the matter did not prescribe.”
judgement Moose_v_W_Van_Der_Schyff_Attorneys
Cape Times PressReader article – Negligent lawyer must compensate RAF client – WC High Court (Open access)
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