FAQ

COIDA is the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. This is the new name for WCA or Workmen’s Compensation Act.

It is an occurrence of which the date, time and place can be determined that arises out of and in the course of an employee’s employment and resulting in a personal injury or death.

1. Report your injury/accident/disease at once to your employer or supervisor. Your employer is legally responsible for reporting your injury on duty or disease to the Compensation office, as well as for sending the necessary form/document to the Compensation office.
2. When you go to the hospital, you should take the following with:
   • A certified copy of your identity book or drivers’ licence or work permit (in case of a foreigner);
   • Employers’ report of accident (WCl2 B-part), which has been completed by your employer. This form is important as it contains all the correct information.
3. Keep in touch with your employer and make sure that he/she can get into contact with you. If you change your address, tell your employer at once. This is because your compensation money, if any, will be mailed to your employer’s address. Keeping in contact is very important.
4. When your employer does not co-operate, assist you or when you think your accident has not been reported to the Compensation office, or if it is taking too long, go to the local Department of Labour and report this.

1. All employers employing one or more employees must be registered with the Office of the Compensation Commissioner.
2. All injuries on duty must be reported to COID within 7 days as per the COIDA. The delay to report an accident is a criminal offence.

Anyone, except domestic workers in private homes, who is employed under a contract of service and receiving wages, may claim compensation in terms of COIDA. Dependants of an employee who is fatally injured can also claim compensation. Casual employees’ rights are exactly the same as full-time employees.

If you are off work for three days or less, you will not receive compensation. Medical expenses will be paid if the claim is reported and accepted.

For the first three months that you are booked off from work, your employer must pay you 75% of your wages or salary. The employer will claim this back from COID.

If you are off work for more than three months the money must be claimed directly from COID (if the employer does not pay you anymore).

If you have a permanent injury, such as deafness, blindness, amputation of a limb or an injury that permanently disables you, i.e. for the rest of your life, or when a fatal injury happens, it will be assessed according to the percentage of disability laid down in the Act.

The Road Accident Fund (“RAF”) is a public entity which has been set up to pay compensation to people injured in road accidents arising from the negligent driving of a motor vehicle in South Africa. The RAF gets its money from a fuel levy included in the price of petrol and diesel. The RAF’s obligation to pay compensation includes the medical treatment resulting from an accident.

Batsumicare has been appointed by various hospitals and medical service providers to process claims and collect monies on behalf of them from the Road Accident Fund and Compensation Fund (COID) for services rendered to motor vehicle accident victims and injury on duty patients.

To enable Batsumicare to consider the potential success of the claim, and thereafter to pursue the claim against the Road Accident Fund, you will be requested by the Hospital and/or the representative of Batsumicare to provide

1. your personal details,
2. a copy of your identity document,
3. authorisation to disclose hospital/clinical records to the RAF,