Fatal Accidents

When a fatal accident happens it can be a devastating experience for all those involved, especially family members who may have lost a beloved parent, partner, sibling or child. It can alter their lives forever, not just emotionally but also financially. This can result in unforeseen suffering; for example, when the main breadwinner passes away their family may be left without any financial support.

If you have been directly affected by a fatal accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence then you are legally entitled to claim personal injury compensation to help you rebuild your future.

There are two aspects to fatal accident compensation, the first being a claim for the person who has died and the second being a claim made by any dependants of the person who has died.

The first part of the claim:

This is awarded for any suffering, distress and pain that the person experienced. If the person died immediately or did not regain consciousness, then little or no compensation will be awarded. This part of the claim also includes personal losses from the date of injury to the date of death and includes funeral expenses.

The second part of the claim:

This part of the claim comes under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and allows claims to be brought by the dependants of someone who dies as a result of negligence or wrongful act by another person. They can claim for any loss of financial support. This includes a surviving spouse or same gender co-habitee for more than 2 years. This includes children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents.

Personal injury compensation is awarded for the loss of financial support since the death.