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The Social Welfare Department (SWD) paid out $168.8 million from the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Fund in the 2007-08 financial year to help traffic accident victims or their dependants.
The total amount of assistance paid has increased by 8.8% from the $155.1 million in the previous year.
According to the 2007-2008 TAVA Fund annual report, 8,964 applications were received during the period against 9,092 in the previous year, representing a decrease of 1.4%.
Police figures showed that there was an increase of 3.1% in the number of traffic casualties, from 19,043 in the previous year to 19,625 in 2007-08. However, the rate of application for TAVA decreased from 47.7% to 45.7%.
"The highest award of the year of $117,360 was granted to the victim of a serious injury case," a spokesman for the department said today (November 4).
The department processed 126 serious traffic accident cases during the year.
The accident resulting in the largest number of victims occurred on July 9, 2007, when six vehicles collided at Shing Mun Tunnel Road in Kwai Chung District. A total of 39 people were injured in this accident, and 15 of them were eligible for TAVA. As at March 31, 2008, a total of $180,000 had been paid out under the scheme to the victims or their dependants.
"In major traffic accidents, staff from the TAVA Section will take the initiative to contact victims or their dependants immediately and help eligible ones apply for the fund as soon as practicable," the spokesman said.
He explained that the TAVA scheme was designed to provide speedy financial assistance to victims or their dependants on a non-means-tested basis.
Applications for assistance, either in person or by post, should be made within six months of the traffic accident, which must have been reported to the Police.
Application forms can be obtained from the Accident Investigation Units of Regional Police Headquarters, district offices of the Home Affairs Department and SWD's TAVA Section at Unit A-D, 8/F, China Overseas Building, 139 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai.
The forms can also be downloaded from the SWD homepage at www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/index.html. Telephone enquiries can be made at 2834 7472.
Ends/Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:50
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