Benoni woman gets R7.5m following severe road accident
A Benoni woman left paralysed after being knocked down by a car while jogging in 2009, is set to receive over R7.5-million from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Sonia Neuhoff (45) was training for the Two Oceans Marathon when a drunk driver hit her, leaving her with severe head fractures and a stroke on one side of her body.
Lawyer Tiaan Smuts, whose Pretoria-based firm, Potgieter Marais Attorneys secured the payment, told the City Times that Neuhoff is basically paralysed.
The mother of three children spent two months in hospital following the accident.
She had suffered severe brain injuries and was in a coma.
The RAF was last year ordered to pay R78 000 towards her medical bills and has agreed to fork out over R6,72-million, last week.
Smuts said the specialist report showed that Neuhoff’s injuries resulted in her having a severe speech deficit.
“She is mostly confined to a wheelchair; unable to walk a long distance and her right arm no longer functions,” said Smuts.
He said he was very happy with the outcome, although her claim for loss of income was limited to just under R5-m in terms of the 2008 RAF Amendment Act, which became effective in August 1, 2008.
Smuts reckons that Neuhoff, who holds two university degrees, would have been entitled to over R12-m had her claim took place before the amendment became effective.
