A lawyer is demanding R774,000 for services rendered before his estranged client, Collen Mtshali, dumped him to claim directly from the Road Accident Fund. Collen Mtshali was awarded R690,000 by the fund. Lawyer Mtheleli Mali claims that the money he is demanding is for services rendered and he was justified to make the claim even though it is R84,000 more than what his client received from the RAF. Mali has served Mtshali with a Notice of Taxation and the tax master is expected to assist the Johannesburg high court in August to determine if the R774,000 claim he slapped Mtshali with is justified or not.
The two had a fallout when Mtshali terminated Mali's services and opted to claim directly from the RAF in 2017 as he was getting impatient as three years had passed since Mali first lodged the claim on his behalf. Mtshali, a father of two, hasn't been employed since he was hit by a car while buying airtime from a hawker on the pavement in the Joburg CBD in 2012. He had been working for the expanded public works programme but was unable to return to work because of his injuries to the limbs and head.
Mali charged Mtshali a total of R139,725 for 27 calls and consultations he had with him at a cost of R5,175 for every hour he spent with him. He also charged an additional R18,108 for 15-minute calls which cost R1,293 each. Some of the calls were to remind Mtshali about pending doctors' appointments.
Mali billed Mtshali R53 to "peruse" the copy of his ID when they initially met. He also charged his client R288,900 for trips to doctors' appointments. The doctors' invoices amounted to R117,802, excluding Mali's travelling fees.
The RAF encourages people to claim directly, but those who opt to use lawyers can do so and their legal representatives can claim not more than 25% of the final settlement amount. Mtshali has lodged a misconduct complaint against Mali with the Legal Practice Council (LPC), which will go through the investigation process.
