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Compensation Claims for Fatal Injuries and Illnesses

If a member of your family has died as the result of an accident, illness or industrial disease caused by someone else, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim form online.

Fatalities

Entitlement to Damages
Fatal Injury Compensation
Personal Injury Claims Already in Progress
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers

Successful Claims for Fatal Accidents

Fatalities

Some accidents are so serious that the person involved does not survive, known as a fatality.  This term would also apply if someone suffered an incurable disease and died as a result.  Fatal accidents can occur under a range of circumstances, for example in an accident at work, car accident, motorcycle accident or accident in a public place.

The effects of a fatal accident or illness can extend to the family of the victim, not only due to the devastating loss of a loved one but often in other ways as well.  For example a spouse or children may have been financially dependent upon the deceased or may have relied upon them for care and other services they provided.

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Entitlement to Damages

There are some cases where a claim has to be made in respect of injuries to a person who has died. They may have been injured in an accident of some kind, suffered injuries due to clinical negligence or exposure to a hazardous substance, causing a disease or illness. Either way, their surviving relatives may be entitled to bring a compensation claim or continue a claim that had begun whilst the victim was still alive.

In any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the individual or company you are making a claim against owed the injured person a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (what is known in law as negligence), and that the injury sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. There can also be a breach of a statutory requirement that leads to a fatal occurrence.

Medical evidence will also be required. Detailed expert evidence is often necessary in disease cases to show that the condition suffered by a claimant was caused by exposure to a particular substance and also on issues of pre existing health problems and life expectancy. It is important to seek the advice of a reputable, experienced lawyer, who can formulate the evidence and advise on the best course of action to bring the claim. Experienced experts in financial matters such as pensions may be needed to ensure that all potential losses resulting from the death are fully recovered for the family to secure their future.

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Fatal Injury Compensation

The way that compensation will be calculated for a case depends upon the circumstances. If a person’s death was as the result of injuries sustained in an accident or disease, the damages awarded would consist of:

• A dependency claim. This is for financially dependent relatives such as children or a spouse that relied on the income of the deceased, or perhaps even a dependent elderly relative. Often this will form the largest part of the compensation and the amount is dependent upon their former and potential income had they lived.  It will often involve a pension loss.
• Actual losses. This relates to any costs and expenditure related to the death of the victim, for example funeral costs, probate and estate administration fees, caring for the victim if there is a protracted illness, travelling to visit them in a hospice or hospital, loss of services, medical aids and adaptations, nursing care costs, private healthcare costs, housing alterations and adaptations where there is failing health leading to death.
• Bereavement. A fixed amount of £11,800 is set by law for deaths after 1/1/2008, just increased from £10,000 which is the sum payable for deaths before the 1/1/2008. It can only be paid to the spouse of the deceased, or their parents if the deceased child was under 18, unmarried and still living with their parents at the date of death.

• Injuries. Damages for any pain and suffering pre death if the death was not instantaneous

 

If death followed a disease or illness, for example industrial diseases such as silicosis, asbestosis, bladder cancer, mesothelioma and asbestos related lung cancer there would also be compensation for the pain and suffering caused to the deceased during their lifetime.

Once an award of damages has been made, it has to be distributed in a particular way:

• Awards for bereavement are made to the spouse or parents of the deceased, as detailed above.
• Dependency awards are distributed to surviving dependent relatives, based upon their losses. Usually this will include a spouse or partner, children and occasionally parents.  Common law spouses have similar dependency rights if they have co habited for 2 years.
• Compensation awarded for the pain and suffering of the deceased from their injuries or illness is passed to their estate and distributed in accordance with any existing Will. If there isn't a Will it will be distributed under the law of intestacy.

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Personal Injury Claims Already in Progress

It is quite common in cases such as those involving industrial diseases, for example asbestos related illnesses such as asbestosis or mesothelioma, that the victim will have begun a claim for compensation during their lifetime.

Continuing with the case after their death should not be a problem and your personal injury lawyer will be able to advise on the simple procedures that need to be carried out in order to do so.

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Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line's lawyers have extensive experience in recovering compensation for the families of victims of fatal accidents, illnesses and industrial diseases. They can provide expert claim advice on all areas of making a claim and offer the assistance and guidance that you need to pursue the case to the best possible outcome.

Our lawyers are also actively campaigning for stricter laws on corporate manslaughter and improvements in workplace health and safety to avoid future deaths in the workpalce.

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Successful Claims for Fatal Accidents

Below you can view details of some of the cases our lawyers have successfully pursued on behalf of the families of victims of fatalities.  For more articles, see our news and success stories sections.

• Our lawyers assisted the family of a partially deaf woman who was fatally injured as the result of a road accident where she was a pedestrian. She had been walking along a pavement and then across the entrance to a demolition site. At the same time a large lorry was reversing in to the entrance of the site and collided with her.

  Criminal proceedings brought by the police and also the Health and Safety Executive were unsuccessful.

  Liability was denied in the civil proceedings claiming for damages for negligence. The compensation claim was eventually successful against both the driver of the lorry and contractors responsible for access to the demolition site.

  Damages were recovered on behalf of her husband and two adult children. One of the children has special needs and his mother had provided him with care and assistance prior to her death. Compensation was agreed in respect of their tragic loss and also to cover financial losses resulting from the accident.

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