The taxi driver was driving fast, but Mxolisi didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything! He just held onto his seat and prayed that everything would be okay.
It was a Tuesday morning and Mr Mxolisi Ngwenya*, who worked as a clerk, thought his day would be like any other day. He got up at 6 A.M., got dressed, had breakfast and kissed his wife and two children goodbye to catch a taxi at 7 A.M.
When the taxi arrived, it was so full, he had no choice but to sit in the very front. Little did he know that it would be because of that decision that his life would never be the same again. The taxi driver was driving fast, but Mxolisi didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything! He just held onto his seat and prayed that everything would be okay. As the taxi sped down the road, another taxi skipped the stop street, crossed lanes and drove head-on into them. That was the last thing Mxolisi remembers about the accident. A white taxi, heading straight for them, and then everything went blank. Mxolisi was knocked unconscious so quickly, he didn’t even have time to think about his family that he'd seen only a few minutes earlier.
Mxolisi’s next memory was waking up in a hospital surrounded by doctors. He couldn’t move and no-one wanted to tell him why. That was when his wife was called. Up until that very moment, she had assumed her husband was at work and not lying in a hospital fighting for his life. It was only after Mxolisi was transferred to another hospital for an MRI scan that doctors could finally see the extent of the damage and confirm their suspicions. His spine was broken.
After hours in surgery and weeks of rehabilitation, Mxolisi was able to walk again but only on crutches. Doctors informed him that he would never be able to work again and would spend the rest of his life as a disabled person. To add to his trauma, Mxolisi was also informed that he was responsible for the payment of the high hospital bills. The news was devastating. He had a family, he was unable to work and he had no medical aid.
Mxolisi then turned to Scorpion and was referred to our Specialist Department dedicated to assisting with RAF claims. After meticulously gathering the necessary evidence and required documentation and working hard on his case, Scorpion Legal
Protection was able to help Mxolisi claim a settlement in excess of R1.6 million from the RAF.
Although the accident occurred several years ago, to this day Mxolisi's injuries still affect his life daily. Every morning he has to take painkillers and is still too weak to carry even a bottle of Coke. He is still grateful that he had Scorpion Legal Protection on his side to help him take care of himself and his family.
*Names and places have been changed to protect the policyholder’s identity.