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The Social Welfare Department (SWD) paid out $154.3 million from the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Fund in the 2004/05 financial year to help traffic accident victims or their dependants.
The total amount of assistance paid has increased by 2.1% compared with $151.1 million in the previous year.
According to the 2004/2005 TAVA Fund annual report, 8,356 applications were received during the period, compared with 8,018 in the previous year, an increase of 4.2%.
Police figures showed that there was an increase of 7.1% in the number of traffic casualties from 18,131 in 2003/2004 to 19,422 in the year reported. However, the rate of application for TAVA slightly decreased from 44.2% to 43%.
"The highest award of the year amounting to $117,000 was granted to the surviving dependants of a fatal case," a department spokesman said today (November 3).
The department processed 93 serious traffic accident cases during the year.
The accident resulting in the largest number of victims occurred on November 9, 2004 where four vehicles collided at Tai Po Road at Sha Tin District. Forty-three victims were injured in this accident, and 17 of them were found eligible for TAVA. At March 31, 2005, a total of $210,000 had been paid out under the scheme to the victims or their dependants.
"In major traffic accidents, staff from the TAVA Section would take the initiatives to contact victims or their dependants immediately to help them apply at an early date," the spokesman said.
The spokesman 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 Room 3020, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai.
In addition, forms can also be downloaded from the SWD homepage at http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/index.html. Enquiries can be made on telephone 2834 7472.
Ends/Thursday, November 3, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:47
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