The death of a loved one is always traumatic, but particularly so if they died in an accident that was someone else’s fault, whether this is in a car crash, an accident at work, or as a result of substandard medical care.

If you are a dependant of someone who has died as a result of someone else’s negligence you may be entitled to claim compensation under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, as Jane Couch, a personal injury law solicitor at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot explains.

How do you prove negligence?

To claim compensation under the Act, you need to show that the person responsible for the death was negligent. This means showing they owed a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care, and the deceased person was fatally injured as a result.

In most tort cases, such as a road traffic or workplace accident, negligence would be found if the person responsible had failed to act how a ‘reasonable man’ or the famous ‘man on the Clapham omnibus’ would act in a similar situation. However, where medical professionals are concerned, the Bolam test applies. This states that negligence would be found if the person responsible had not acted in accordance with a practice considered acceptable by a responsible body of doctors.

Who can claim under the Fatal Accidents Act?

A fatal accidents dependency claim is usually brought by the executors on behalf of the dependants, although the dependants can bring a claim themselves if the executors do not begin a claim within six months of the death.

A dependant is:

  • the spouse or civil partner of the deceased person;
  • anyone living with them immediately before their death;
  • anyone living with the deceased person for two years before their death;
  • any biological child of the deceased person, or anyone treated as their own child;
  • any parent or grandparent of the deceased person; or
  • any sibling of the deceased person.

What can be claimed under the Act?

There are different kinds of compensation that can be claimed under the Fatal Accidents Act. These include:

Statutory bereavement award

A bereavement award, currently set at £15,120, is payable to: the spouse or civil partner of the deceased; or the parents if she or he was under the age of 18 and never married or in a civil partnership.

Loss of consortium

Also known as ‘loss of a special person’, this award is in recognition of the loss of special unquantifiable services due to the person’s death. This would include, for example, a child losing a parent, or a spouse losing a partner after a long marriage.

Loss of financial dependency

This compensates dependants for the loss of financial income the deceased would have brought in had they not died. It would include all potential financial income such as salary, investments, pensions, and state benefits.

Loss of services dependency

Dependants can claim for the lost services that the deceased would have provided if they had not died. This would include factors like loss of care (cooking, washing, school runs, etc) if the claimant is a child, and cooking, DIY and gardening, for example, if the claimant is a spouse.

For more information on claiming compensation under the Fatal Accidents Act, or any other personal injury issue, contact Jane Couch at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot on 01626 202413 or email [email protected].

WBW has offices in TorquayPaigntonNewton AbbotExeterBovey Tracey,  Exmouth,  Honiton,  Sidmouth,  Launceston,  AxminsterChard and Seaton.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.