Two Gauteng attorneys are accused of holding onto funds from the Road Accident Fund instead of paying their clients.
Attorneys Wimpie Rossouw and Frans Schutte have received a total of R565,454, but have not paid their clients.
Two accident victims were awarded medical certificates for medical treatment, but they have to pay from their own pockets because the attorneys have kept their certificates.
August Mocha Lekgoba, 35, was injured in a freak accident. He says the taxi in which he was travelling twice had punctures and overturned.
After the taxi had overturned the second time Lekgoba says he was trying to retrieve his belongings when he was hit by another taxi.
He says he suffered head injuries and a fractured leg and pelvis.
Lekgoba, of Alexandra in Johannesburg, approached the RAF to inquire when he would be paid because his attorney, Rossouw, would not tell him, he says.
Lekgoba says he was hospitalised for seven weeks. While recuperating in hospital, a security guard told him that Frans Schutte Attorneys could help him.
Later in 2006, he approached this firm to assist him to lodge a claim with the RAF .
His case was heard a few times and the RAF eventually awarded him R345,454. The money was paid into the attorneys' trust account on December 1 last year.
Lekgoba says the attorneys had denied receiving the money. He approached the RAF and discovered that the money had been paid.
"I have been battling to pay my children's school fees and the attorneys had my money all along," he says.
He went back to the lawyers, who then admitted that they had been paid , but that the money was used up in legal fees.
"I think they are still lying. They cannot charge me legal fees when we have entered into a contingency fee agreement," Lekgoba says.
Contingency fee agreements are a common legal practice when road accident victims claim damages. Lawyers agree to charge a percentage of the total fee, often up to one-third of the settlement award.
Although sometimes known as "no win, no fee", some legal expenses such as photocopying and postage may be charged even if the case is lost.
Ntomboxolo Songqwaba's misery started in 2008 when she sustained a leg injury on her way home from a church conference in Johannesburg.
Songqwaba says she sustained fractures to her hands and leg and injuries to her face.
She says she underwent several operations and ended up with one leg shorter than the other.
Rossouw Attorneys approached her while she was in hospital, she says.
She says they kept communicating with her until the claim was settled in May this year.
Songqwaba, of Gu gulethu in Cape Town, has rejected the R76,272 from her attorney who has, contrary to their agreement, charged her fees based on a contingency agreement and legal fees.
"You cannot charge both. They told me so when I enlisted their service," Songqwaba says.
"Though they had promised to pay what was due to me after taking their contingency fees, they now want to charge me legal fees as well," she says.
She says they invested R40,000 of her compensation without her consent.
Letters in Sowetan's possession show that Rossouw briefed Adams and Adams Attorneys in Pretoria to lodge the claim.
On receipt of R220,000 from the RAF, Adams and Adams deducted their R1,267.
They invested R40,000 with Nedbank until they received their legal fees from the fund.
Rossouw Attorneys charged Songqwaba R26,700 for their contingency fee and deducted an undisclosed amount for disbursements.
Frans Schutte told Consumer Line that they could not pay Lekgoba until his file had been taxed.
He confirmed that they had received Lekgoba's compensation in December last year and added that they had obtained a taxation date.
"At no stage did we take the whole compensation as is alleged. We did conclude a contingency fee agreement with Lekgoba, but we are still in the process of settling the cost aspect for this matter as previously mentioned," Schutte says.
He did not say how soon Lekgoba would get his money.
Louise Cloete of Wimpie Rossouw said there were inconsistencies as to which account the money should be paid into.
She also said her firm is entitled to recover disbursements adding that Songqwaba's account has not been taxed.
"Once the cost account has been taxed and paid by the RAF a final settlement will be given to the client," Cloete said.
David Scheepers of Adam and Adam said both attorneys' bill of cost have been taxed and are in the process of recovering R141,350 from RAF.
This article was first published in the printed newspaper on 24 October 2012
'Attorneys ripping us off'
Two Gauteng attorneys are accused of holding onto funds from the Road Accident Fund instead of paying their clients.
Attorneys Wimpie Rossouw and Frans Schutte have received a total of R565,454, but have not paid their clients.
Two accident victims were awarded medical certificates for medical treatment, but they have to pay from their own pockets because the attorneys have kept their certificates.
August Mocha Lekgoba, 35, was injured in a freak accident. He says the taxi in which he was travelling twice had punctures and overturned.
After the taxi had overturned the second time Lekgoba says he was trying to retrieve his belongings when he was hit by another taxi.
He says he suffered head injuries and a fractured leg and pelvis.
Lekgoba, of Alexandra in Johannesburg, approached the RAF to inquire when he would be paid because his attorney, Rossouw, would not tell him, he says.
Lekgoba says he was hospitalised for seven weeks. While recuperating in hospital, a security guard told him that Frans Schutte Attorneys could help him.
Later in 2006, he approached this firm to assist him to lodge a claim with the RAF .
His case was heard a few times and the RAF eventually awarded him R345,454. The money was paid into the attorneys' trust account on December 1 last year.
Lekgoba says the attorneys had denied receiving the money. He approached the RAF and discovered that the money had been paid.
"I have been battling to pay my children's school fees and the attorneys had my money all along," he says.
He went back to the lawyers, who then admitted that they had been paid , but that the money was used up in legal fees.
"I think they are still lying. They cannot charge me legal fees when we have entered into a contingency fee agreement," Lekgoba says.
Contingency fee agreements are a common legal practice when road accident victims claim damages. Lawyers agree to charge a percentage of the total fee, often up to one-third of the settlement award.
Although sometimes known as "no win, no fee", some legal expenses such as photocopying and postage may be charged even if the case is lost.
Ntomboxolo Songqwaba's misery started in 2008 when she sustained a leg injury on her way home from a church conference in Johannesburg.
Songqwaba says she sustained fractures to her hands and leg and injuries to her face.
She says she underwent several operations and ended up with one leg shorter than the other.
Rossouw Attorneys approached her while she was in hospital, she says.
She says they kept communicating with her until the claim was settled in May this year.
Songqwaba, of Gu gulethu in Cape Town, has rejected the R76,272 from her attorney who has, contrary to their agreement, charged her fees based on a contingency agreement and legal fees.
"You cannot charge both. They told me so when I enlisted their service," Songqwaba says.
"Though they had promised to pay what was due to me after taking their contingency fees, they now want to charge me legal fees as well," she says.
She says they invested R40,000 of her compensation without her consent.
Letters in Sowetan's possession show that Rossouw briefed Adams and Adams Attorneys in Pretoria to lodge the claim.
On receipt of R220,000 from the RAF, Adams and Adams deducted their R1,267.
They invested R40,000 with Nedbank until they received their legal fees from the fund.
Rossouw Attorneys charged Songqwaba R26,700 for their contingency fee and deducted an undisclosed amount for disbursements.
Frans Schutte told Consumer Line that they could not pay Lekgoba until his file had been taxed.
He confirmed that they had received Lekgoba's compensation in December last year and added that they had obtained a taxation date.
"At no stage did we take the whole compensation as is alleged. We did conclude a contingency fee agreement with Lekgoba, but we are still in the process of settling the cost aspect for this matter as previously mentioned," Schutte says.
He did not say how soon Lekgoba would get his money.
Louise Cloete of Wimpie Rossouw said there were inconsistencies as to which account the money should be paid into.
She also said her firm is entitled to recover disbursements adding that Songqwaba's account has not been taxed.
"Once the cost account has been taxed and paid by the RAF a final settlement will be given to the client," Cloete said.
David Scheepers of Adam and Adam said both attorneys' bill of cost have been taxed and are in the process of recovering R141,350 from RAF.
This article was first published in the printed newspaper on 24 October 2012
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