Photo: Shade Schutze Photography, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0RAF serious injury assessment
The RAF 4 form, the 30% test and the narrative test
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What the law says
Section 17(1) of the Road Accident Fund Act limits the Fund's duty to pay non-pecuniary loss (general damages) "to compensation for a serious injury as contemplated in subsection (1A)", paid as a lump sum. Section 17(1A) requires the assessment to follow a prescribed method and to be carried out by a medical practitioner registered under the Health Professions Act. Section 26(1A) lets the Minister make regulations on the method of assessment and on injuries that are not regarded as serious.
Those rules are in regulation 3 of the Road Accident Fund Regulations, 2008. The RAF summarises them on its general damages page: a third party who wants general damages must submit to an assessment by a medical practitioner.
The three steps of the assessment
The RAF describes the method the doctor must follow (RAF, general damages):
- Is the injury on the regulation 3(1)(b)(i) description of injuries that are not serious? If it is, it is not serious — unless a complication arose from it, in which case it must be assessed further.
- The 30% test. Otherwise the doctor assesses whether the injury resulted in 30% or more Impairment of the Whole Person under the AMA Guides. If it did, the injury must be assessed as serious.
- The narrative test. If the impairment is below 30%, the injury may still be serious under the narrative test of regulation 3(1)(b).
Under regulation 3(1)(b)(iii), as quoted by the High Court in Lombard v HPCSA (2023), an injury below 30% may only be assessed as serious if it: (aa) resulted in a severe long-term impairment or loss of a body function; (bb) constitutes permanent serious disfigurement; (cc) resulted in extreme long-term mental or severe long-term behavioural disturbance or disorder; or (dd) resulted in the loss of a foetus.
The RAF 4 form: who completes it and when
- The RAF 4 Serious Injury Assessment Report is listed among the RAF's claim forms. It must be submitted for any claim for general damages arising after 31 July 2008.
- It is completed by a medical practitioner registered with the Health Professions Council — not by the RAF and not by a lawyer (RAF Act s 17(1A)(b)).
- The RAF's how-to-claim page asks for the RAF 4 "duly completed in line with the AMA Guides' narrative test where applicable", together with photographs of injuries or scarring (RAF).
- The RAF 4 is also listed as a supporting document for loss of earnings where applicable (RAF).
Under regulation 3(3), the Fund is obliged to pay general damages only if a serious injury assessment report supports the claim and the Fund is satisfied that the injury was correctly assessed as serious. A dispute about that assessment follows regulation 3(4): it is referred to an Appeal Tribunal, which can decide whether the injury is serious under the method in the regulations (Lombard v HPCSA (2023)).
"How much does the RAF pay for a leg injury?"
The RAF publishes no table of amounts per injury. Its general damages page says the assessment of non-patrimonial loss "differs from person to person" and that "each case is determined on its own merit", to arrive at an amount that may give the injured person some comfort for the hurt suffered and still to come.
- General damages: a lump sum, only if the injury is serious (s 17(1)).
- Loss of income: actual proven loss, capped at R390 664 a year for accidents from 31 July 2026 (Board Notice 967 of 2026).
- Medical costs: past costs and an undertaking for future costs at the public-health tariff.
- If you were partly to blame, every head of damages is reduced by your share (RAF FAQs).
Figures quoted online for a "broken leg" or a "whiplash" claim are settlements in individual cases, not RAF rates. Tulinde does not reproduce them.
Practical points before you claim general damages
- Lodge the claim (RAF 1) within the deadline — 3 years from the accident, 2 years for a hit-and-run — even if the RAF 4 is not ready yet: the deadline does not wait for the assessment. See RAF deadlines.
- Keep every hospital record, X-ray and follow-up report: the assessing doctor needs them to apply the AMA Guides.
- Photograph scars and visible injuries as they heal.
- After lodging, follow the claim through the RAF contact centre: RAF claim status.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a serious injury for the RAF?
An injury assessed on the RAF 4 form as causing 30% or more Impairment of the Whole Person under the AMA Guides, or, below 30%, one that meets the narrative test of regulation 3(1)(b)(iii): severe long-term impairment or loss of a body function, permanent serious disfigurement, extreme long-term mental or severe long-term behavioural disturbance or disorder, or loss of a foetus.
What if the RAF rejects my serious injury assessment?
A dispute about whether an injury is serious goes through regulation 3(4) of the RAF Regulations: it is referred to an Appeal Tribunal, which can decide whether the injury is serious under the prescribed method.
Is there a list of serious injuries for the RAF?
Not a list of serious injuries. Regulation 3 refers to a description of injuries that are not serious, and otherwise uses the 30% whole person impairment test and the narrative test. The doctor completing the RAF 4 applies them.
Who completes the RAF 4 form?
A medical practitioner registered under the Health Professions Act (RAF Act s 17(1A)(b)) — not the RAF and not a lawyer.
How much does the RAF pay for a leg injury?
There is no fixed amount. The RAF says general damages are decided case by case, and they are payable only if the injury is assessed as serious. Proven medical costs and loss of income are paid separately, with income capped at R390 664 a year.
Can I claim general damages for whiplash?
Only if the injury is assessed as serious on the RAF 4 — by the 30% test or the narrative test. Without that, the RAF can still pay medical costs and proven loss of income.
Sources
- Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996, consolidated text (LawLibrary / Laws.Africa): ss 17, 18(4), 19, 23, 24 and 26
- Road Accident Fund — General damages: serious injury assessment under regulation 3 (archived copy of 5 December 2025)
- Lombard obo R L v Health Professions Council of South Africa [2023] ZAGPPHC 949 (23 August 2023) — quotes regulation 3(1)(b) and 3(3)–(4) of the RAF Regulations, 2008 (LawLibrary, Web Archive copy of 9 September 2024)
- Road Accident Fund — How to claim: documents, RAF 1 and RAF 4, 'Drive your claim forward' (archived copy of 22 April 2026; menu links to the RAF Self Service Portal and RAF Chatbot)
- Road Accident Fund — Claims FAQs (archived copy of 17 January 2026)
- Government Gazette 55097, 31 July 2026 — Board Notice 967 of 2026, RAF adjustment of statutory limit for loss of income and loss of support (R390 664)