If a loved one has been lost dues to an accident that wasn’t their fault, you might be searching for information about what to do. This guide about fatal injury compensation claims will aim to provide you with guidance and support.
We will cover the circumstances that could give rise to a compensation claim and discuss the various losses that can be claimed, including a loss of dependency.
The solicitors from our panel are sensitive and knowledgeable. They have experience dealing with fatal accidents and can help you claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
To speak with one of our advisors call today for your free, no-obligation consultation.
- Phone: 0800 408 7825
- Message us with our contact form
- Live chat available
Browse Our Guide
- What Is A Fatal Accident?
- What Are Fatal Injury Compensation Claims?
- Who Can Make A Dependency Claim?
- What Happens After A Fatal Accident?
- What Are Bereavement Damages?
- How Much Fatal Accident Compensation Could You Receive?
- Claim For A Fatal Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Fatal Injury Compensation Claims
What Is A Fatal Accident?
A fatal accident is an accident that causes death. This could be caused by:
- A road traffic accident
- An accident at work
- An accident in a public place
- Medical negligence
What Are Fatal Injury Compensation Claims?
When a death has been caused by negligence, then a compensation claim can be made. To make such a claim there are some eligibility criteria. These are:
- Someone owed a duty of care to the deceased
- This duty was breached
- The breach caused injuries and, ultimately, a fatality
All three elements must be present for a claim to be successful.
The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 1934 lets the estate of the deceased put forward a claim for the pain, suffering and financial harm of the deceased. This can also include a claim on behalf of the dependants. During the first 6 months after death, the estate is the only party who can make a claim.
The descendants of the deceased can make a claim after 6 months under the Fatal Accident Act 1976 (FAA) if a claim for them was not already brought by the estate. This is a claim for how the impacts the death has had upon them. We will look in more detail at who qualifies as a dependant later on in this guide.
Let us look now at some of the duties that could be owed and give rise to potential fatal accident claims.
Accidents At Work
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 outlines that an employer owes a duty of care to all employees, and they must take reasonable steps to prevent them from suffering harm.
To meet this duty, they may have to provide suitable training and equipment, risk assess tasks and maintain work premises. They do not need to remove all risks from a job, but they should identify them and reduce them where possible.
Examples of accidents at work that could cause a fatality are:
- An employer failing to provide sufficient training to an employee – an employee is untrained and left unsupervised to work on a roof in poor weather conditions. They slip and fall, suffering fatal injuries.
- Due to unsafe loading practices, a delivery driver is crushed when a pallet falls from a forklift truck during unloading. The driver was not provided with a safe place to stand, and unloading should not have started until he was safely out of the area.
- A crane is not subject to essential inspection and maintenance. While it is being operated, a fault causes the arm to detach, hitting a worker in the head.
Any fatal accident should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The HSE is the independent regulator for health and safety in Great Britain. It can investigate breaches of health and safety legislation and bring criminal proceedings for serious breaches. This would be separate from any claim for compensation.
An HSE investigation might help explain how the death occurred and also produce documents that could be used to show how the employer was at fault.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road users owe a duty of care to other road users. To meet this duty, they must use their vehicles in a way that does not cause harm. There are rules in The Highway Code and The Road Traffic Act 1988 that need to be followed, and if they are not, then this could be a breach of duty.
Here are some examples of fatal road traffic accidents:
- A driver of a motor vehicle is under the influence of alcohol and swerves into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision at speed.
- Whilst using their phone whilst driving, a driver fails to notice a pedestrian crossing the road, and they hit them at speed.
- A van driver on the motorway changes lanes without checking their mirror and hits a car that is legally overtaking them in the outside lane. This causes the vehicle to flip over, killing the driver.
Accidents In A Public Place
Fatal injury compensation claims can be made for accidents in a public place. As outlined in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, those parties in control of areas that the public can access have a legal duty of care. They should take steps to ensure that visitors are reasonably safe.
Examples of public liability claims that could cause a fatality could include:
- A restaurant has a defective handrail, but it does not repair it or warn customers about it. When a patron uses the handrail, it breaks, and they fall down the stairs, landing heavily on their neck.
- Heavy boxes in a retail store are not stacked safely, and they collapse, striking a customer on the head and causing a bleed on the brain that proves fatal.
- A business owner installs a gas appliance instead of using a gas safety registered engineer. This caused a gas leak and an explosion that caused several fatalities, including a member of the public who was visiting the premises.
Medical Negligence
All medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. To meet this duty they must deliver the minimum expected standard of care. If they fail to do this and it causes harm then a claim could be made.
Some examples of medical negligence that could lead to the death of a patient include:
- Despite a patient displaying clear symptoms of lung cancer, a medical expert has failed to refer their patient for further tests, resulting in the cancer progressing and finally leading to the patient’s death.
- A medical nurse has administered a medication that the patient had a known allergy to, causing them to suffer a fatal allergic reaction.
- Failing to pay attention during surgery, a surgeon damages vital organs during surgery, resulting in the patient dying.
The solicitors on our panel are compassionate and knowledgeable and have experience in handling a wide range of claims that include fatalities. To see if you might be eligible to claim for a lost loved one you can reach out to an advisor for a free case assessment.
Who Can Make A Dependency Claim?
We detailed earlier in the guide that dependants can bring a claim under the FAA. Here is a list of people who qualify as dependants:
- Wife or husband and/or civil partner (current or former).
- Someone who lived with the person who died for two years before their death and who were living together in this time as spouses.
- A parent who passed away or someone who was treated as their parent (e.g. a step-parent).
- A child of the person who passed or someone who was treated as their child, for example – stepchildren were treated as their child
- The brother, the sister, an uncle or an aunt of the deceased or any of their children.
To see if you qualify as a dependant, you can contact one of our sensitive advisors.
What Happens After A Fatal Accident?
We discussed earlier that fatal accidents must be reported under RIDDOR if they occur at the workplace. Another requirement for accidents is that they be reported to a Coroner.
A coroner may choose to hold an inquest and investigate the death. This will usually be done if:
- The death was violent
- The cause of death is unknown
- The death happened whilst the person was in state detention.
It will be up to the coroner to determine if the cause of death is clear, if a post-mortem is needed and whether to hold an inquest.
If an inquest is held, this could also provide documentation about the cause of death that could be used in fatal injury compensation claims.
What Are Bereavement Damages?
Under the FAA, there is a statutory bereavement award that compensates qualifying relatives of the deceased who lost a loved one in a fatal accident. The accident must be the fault of a third party as discussed in the above eligibility sections.
Only certain relatives can claim the statutory bereavement award and it is a fixed sum of £15,120. This sum is divided equally between qualifying relatives that include:
- Surviving spouses and civil partners
- A cohabiting partner of at least 2 years
- The parents of the deceased if the deceased was an unmarried minor (under the age of 18)
To see if you qualify for the statutory bereavement award, you can contact an advisor.
How Much Fatal Accident Compensation Could You Receive?
A successful fatal accident compensation claim could result in two types of damages called general and special damages. The general damages are for the pain and suffering before death, while the special damages refer to the financial impact of the injuries.
When calculating a figure for general damages, a document called the Judicial College guidelines (JCG) may be used. This contains a list of injuries and suggested compensation brackets. Here is a table of injuries from the JCG (apart from the top entry) and their corresponding compensation bracket. They are just a guideline and any damages will be affected by the time that passed between the injury and the passing of your loved one.
| Injury | Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Death | Death | Up to £500,000 and over |
| Injuries Involving Paralysis | Tetraplegia (also known as Quadriplegia) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Brain and head injury | Very severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately severe | £267,340 to £344,150 | |
| Less severe | £18,700 to £52,550 | |
| Injuries resulting in death | Full awareness | £15,300 to £29,060 |
| Followed by Unconsciousness | £12,830 to £13,020 | |
| Mental Anguish | £5,700 |
There could also be financial losses that your loved one suffered prior to their passing, and a claim for financial loss or special damages can also be made.
What Types Of Compensation Can You Claim For In A Fatal Accident Claim?
Other forms of compensation that could be awarded in a fatal accident compensation claim include:
- Funeral costs
- Loss of service – (if the deceased helps with children or DIY around the home. A solicitor can quantify these losses.
- Dependency – loss of the deceased’s past and future earnings, therefore impacting the family’s income.
- Loss of a special person – this reflects a loss that is not financially quantifiable elsewhere, e.g. loss of companionship.
- Bereavement award (as discussed above)
Our advisors can discuss any losses that you think might have come from your loved one’s passing that was caused by an accident.
Claim For A Fatal Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
We understand that this can be a very emotional time, and our panel of expert solicitors can make the process of making fatal injury compensation claims as easy as possible. The benefits you would receive when instructing one of the panel experts are:
- A wealth of experience in handling all kinds of compensation claims
- The panel expert will assist in collecting evidence to support the claim
- Negotiations with defendant solicitors
Our panel can do all of this and more without taking any upfront or ongoing fees for their work. This is due to them working with their clients under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement.
Should your claim be successful, then a small success fee will be taken from the compensation. This is deducted as a percentage that is legally capped.
If you would like to discuss your situation with one of our advisors, we can assess the claim quickly and potentially connect you with one of our panel solicitors.
Contact us at:
- Phone: 0800 408 7825
- Message us with our contact form
- Live chat available
Learn More About Fatal Injury Compensation Claims
Our resources for assistance with this guide.
- Read our advice on making a personal injury claim on behalf of someone else.
- Learn more about lorry and HGV accidents with a guide on how to claim for HGV accidents.
- Our guide on how to claim a bereavement award for a fatal accident
Additional resources
- Advice from the NHS after a bereavement or loss.
- Here is information from GOV.UK about who you need to contact after someone has died.
- If you are grieving the death of a loved one, this guide may help.
Thank you for reading our guide on fatal Injury compensation claims.
