Fatal Accident Claims
No-win, No-fee claims
If you’ve been injured in an accident that occurred because someone who had a duty of care towards you breached this duty, you may be able to claim compensation for your suffering.
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Fatal Accident Claims
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Find out more about the fatal accident claims process with this helpful guide.
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This guide to fatal accident claims will cover a range of topics including eligibility to claim, time limits and how compensation can be calculated. The accidental death of a family member can be a very stressful and complicated time, so we have created this guide to provide a broad overview of the claims process.
We have also included some example scenarios of accidents that could result in a fatality, explaining the duties of care owed in public places, at work and when navigating the roads.
To finish off our guide we have included a brief explanation of how you can benefit when making a fatal accident claim under the specific type of No Win No Fee contract offered by our panel of expert fatal accident solicitors.
We appreciate this guide contains a lot of information. You can reach out to our team with questions or for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim using the phone number at the top of the page or by completing our online form. You can also click the live chat button on screen to discuss fatal accident compensation claims now.
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Who Is Able To Make A Fatal Injury Claim?
Under the Law Reform Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1934, it is the estate of the deceased who are eligible to make fatal accident claims for the pain and suffering experienced by the deceased, as well for any financial losses experienced prior to their death.
Certain qualifying dependents of the deceased can also make a claim for the impact the death has had on them as per the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. Only the estate can claim on behalf of the deceased for their pain and suffering and financial losses.
Also, for the first 6 months after the death, only the estate can start a claim on behalf of both the deceased and any dependents. After these 6 months have elapsed, and no claim has been made, then the dependents can make a claim for their losses.
Qualifying dependents under the Fatal Accidents Act include:
- A spouse, civil partner or person who cohabited with the deceased as their spouse for at least 2 years prior to their death.
- Parents or ascendants with a parental relationship.
- Children or other descendants who were treated as the deceased’s child. This includes step-children and children from previous marriages.
- Siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
For a free assessment of your eligibility to make a fatal accident claim, or to ask any questions you might have, contact our advisors today using the number above.
What Type Of Fatal Accidents Can You Claim For?
This section looks out the circumstances in which fatal accident claims could be made after third-party negligence resulted in a death. The eligibility criteria work much the same way as in personal injury claims:
- A third party owed your relative a duty of care.
- The third party breached this duty.
- This breach resulted in a fatal accident.
We have included some example scenarios for road accidents, accidents at work and in public places below.
Road Accidents
Every road user owes a duty of care to all other road users. Anyone who navigates the roads must do so in a way that minimises the risk of causing harm to one another. This involves adhering to the standards of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code.
An example of a road user failing to uphold their duty and causing a fatal accident could be:
- A driver who is well over the legal drink drive limit fails to make a bend and collides with a cyclist at high speed. The cyclist suffers multiple very serious injuries and later dies at the hospital.
Accidents In Public Places
The party who is in control of a public place is referred to as the occupier. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, occupiers are required to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of all visitors to their premises who are using it for its intended purposes.
Failure to do so could lead to a public place accident:
- A hotel manager did not organise the latest round of maintenance inspections. Had they done so, they’d have noticed that the railing on the hotel’s rooftop bar was coming free from its mountings. A customer leant on the railing to take a picture when the railing collapsed. The customer was killed in the fall.
Workplace Accidents
Employers have a duty of care to all their employees. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, stipulates that all employees must take reasonable steps to ensure their workforce’s safety.
To help employers identify risks and understand what constitutes reasonable steps for their workplace, Britain’s national health and safety regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes detailed guidance on managing risks at work.
An example of how a failure to uphold this duty could result in a fatal accident could be:
- Freight depot employees who had not been given the correct level of training to use the loading crane were instructed to use it regardless. Workers consequently attempted to load a weight that was well above the crane’s upper limit. The cable snapped, fatally crushing an employee as it fell.
There are other situations where a fatal accident claim could be made by the estate of the deceased. To find if you could claim in your particular circumstances, contact our advisors today.
How Long Do You Have To Make Fatal Accident Claims?
Usually there is a limitation period of 3 years from the accident date, as per the Limitation Act 1980. In cases where the cause of death is uncertain, the 3 years can be counted from the date of knowledge, such as when the coroner’s report was received, which we explain more in the next section.
To ask any questions about the time limits in fatal accidents claims, speak to an advisor today.
What Is An Inquest?
A coroner’s inquest is an investigation into why a person died. An inquest will be ordered if the cause of death is unclear or the injured person died a violent or unnatural death. The purpose of an inquest is not to assign fault for the death; the aim is to establish the facts of the person’s death.
You can ask our advisors more about the circumstances in which a coroner’s inquest could be ordered as part of the fatal accident claims process by using the contact information provided below.
How Long Do Fatal Accident Claims Take?
Fatal accident claims can take time, how much time depends entirely on the individual circumstances of each case. Some factors that can influence how long any given claim takes to settle include:
- Whether or not the third party accepts liability straight away.
- The results of a coroner’s inquest or police report.
- Acquiring the correct medical documents and other evidence.
- Receiving documents from the third party’s solicitors on time.
Our advisors can explain the claims process in more detail. They can also provide a free assessment of your eligibility. Get in touch with us today using the contact information provided below.
How Much Compensation For A Fatal Accident?
In fatal accident claims, the estate of the deceased can claim compensation under the two heads of loss, general and special damages. Compensation for the deceased’s pain and suffering prior to their death is awarded under general damages, whereas certain financial losses are awarded under special damages, which we’ll explore more later.
When calculating a possible compensation figure under general damages, reference can be made to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) alongside relevant medical documents. The JCG publication details the guideline award brackets for various types of harm.
Compensation Calculator
You can use our compensation calculator to view potential compensation value. Please be advised that the JCG brackets are for guidance only.
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What Is the Statutory Bereavement Award?
The bereavement award is a fixed sum payable to certain qualifying relatives under the Fatal Accidents Act. A lump of £15,120 is paid out if claimed and the sum is split among relatives if more than one is claiming.
Qualifying relatives include:
- Spouses or civil partners.
- Persons who cohabited with the deceased for a minimum of two years as their partner prior to their death.
- The parents if the deceased was an unmarried minor.
What Financial Losses Can Be Covered By A Fatal Accident Compensation Claim?
Certain financial losses can be compensated in fatal accident claims under special damages. Costs the estate could claim for include:
- Medical bills, such as if the deceased was in a coma prior to their death and incurred private medical costs.
- Lost earnings prior to death.
Other Payments
While only the estate can claim general and special damages, there are other payments that can be claimed by the dependents of the deceased. These are:
- Loss of service: This can include childcare, domestic labour and DIY tasks that the deceased undertook.
- Financial dependency: Those who were dependant on the deceased’s salary could claim for the loss of their salary, and the impact it has on household finances.
- Loss of consortium: Also referred to as loss of a special person, this aims to account for losses that cannot be quantified, such as the loss of companionship or the impact on a familial relationship.
- Funeral expenses: This could include the cost of a headstone, for example.
As we mentioned above, this section is intended for guidance purposes only, as every claim is assessed individually. To get a free assessment of your potential claim, contact our advisors today.
How Can We Help You Make A Fatal Injury Claim?
Get in touch with us today to find out if you could be eligible to claim compensation. Our advisory team has considerable experience in assessing fatal accident claims and can answer any questions you may have.
If eligible to claim, you could be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), No Win No Fee contract with notable advantages including:
- Generally, not paying anything upfront for the solicitor to commence work on your case.
- You will also not pay for the work during the actual claim.
- Finally, in the event the claim does not succeed, you will not be liable for any fee to cover the work they have provided.
Fatal accident compensation will be awarded should the claim succeed. A legally capped percentage of this will go to the solicitor as their success fee. This cap means you will keep the majority of any award you receive.
If you have any questions after reading our guide, get in touch. You can reach out to our team with questions or for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim using the phone number at the top of the page or by completing our online form. You can also click the live chat button on screen now.
Read More About How To Claim Compensation
These external resources contain additional information that you may find helpful:
- You can learn more about the symptoms of grief after bereavement or loss with this resource from the NHS.
- Get support for bereavement from Mental health charity Mind.
- Learn what to do when someone dies with this Government guidance.
Thank you for reading this guide to fatal accident claims. Contact our team today for additional information, or for a free consultation regarding your eligibility to claim compensation.
