Fatal Injury Claims

If you or a person close to you is involved in a serious accident, such as a Road Traffic Accident or Accident at Work , injuries can range from slight, moderate or severe. But in the most extreme and unfortunate cases, some of these accidents can tragically result in death, either immediately or some time after the incident due to complications with the injury – this is known as a fatal injury.

The death of a loved one is among the most emotionally painful things that a person can experience. Alongside this feeling of loss you might feel anger, particularly if the fatal accident happened due to someone else’s negligence. If someone close to you has passed away following a fatal accident, then the chances are that, in the first wave of shock and grief, the last thing you’ll be thinking of is claiming compensation.

Not only is the death of a loved one emotionally traumatic, but it can also have an effect on your life in ways that you might not think of at the time; for example, if the person was the sole breadwinner of your household. Claiming compensation for a fatal accident can:

• Enable you to feel that justice has been done in some small way and that you haven’t been left to cope on your own in the wake of the worst that life can throw at you.
• Ensure that the accident and its aftermath won’t have left you any worse off financially.

If your loved one has died as a result of the negligence of a third party, then you might be able to claim compensation to protect you and your family from any additional trauma relating to your loved one’s death. In this case, this may mean being compensated for the lost earnings of the main wage-earner of a family, something which will have financial ramifications going forward many years.

You can get in touch with a trained advisor for free on 0800 234 6438. Or, if you’d prefer, you can fill in one of the contact forms on this page to arrange a call back.

Fatal accidents can happen anywhere, to anyone. In some cases, the accident may cause instant death, and in other cases the severity of the accident might only become clear over time, and death might come as a result of those injuries. For example, a fatal accident could happen in:

• Road traffic accidents – A collision between two vehicles, a bus and a car, or even a vehicle and pedestrian or a cyclist is likely to lead to severe injury, and sometimes death. Find out more about bus accident compensation.
• Parks and playgrounds – If a child is using playground equipment for example, they might fall from height on a climbing frame, which can even be fatal in extreme cases.
• Supermarkets, restaurants – Something as simple as slipping on a wet floor in public spaces like restaurants or supermarkets can sometimes lead to serious or deadly head injuries.
• Hospitals and health clinics – For example, following surgery or other treatment which falls short of an acceptable standard, known as medical negligence

Among the most common places for a fatal accident to occur is the workplace. Many of us, regardless of occupation, spend a lot of our lives at work, and some careers are naturally more hazardous than others; for example, if you work on a construction site. No matter where your loved one’s fatal accident took place, you may be able to claim compensation for their death if someone else was responsible.

Whenever we go to work, we have a right to feel safe; and it’s our employers’ job to make sure that this is the case. Sadly, accidents do happen as a result of employer negligence, and if they’re found to have breached their legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and/or other legislation such as the Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999, then they’re potentially liable for any injury – especially if that accident was fatal.

These types of legislation require employers to carry out a risk assessment and implement the health and safety measures identified as being required by this assessment. If the employer fails to do so, then they may have to pay a fair amount of compensation to a person’s family if they have died as a result of their negligence.

A fatal injury isn’t necessarily one where an accident is immediately fatal, such as falling from height and a crush injury . In some circumstances people may die many years after leaving their job, due to a disease or illness which they contracted because of their working conditions.

In fact, deaths from asbestosis (a lung disease caused by breathing in excess asbestos dust) are still on the rise in the UK many years after the use of the substance was made illegal due to it’s links to Mesothelioma. Occupations known to have exposed workers to the risk of exposure to asbestos include:

• Carpenters and Joiners
• Boiler, Pipe and Heating Workers
• Mechanics
• Plumbers and Gasfitters
• Roofers
• Construction and Demolition Workers
• Painters and Decorators
• Electricians
• Engineers
• Power Station Workers
• Laboratory and Research

Alongside asbestosis, these types of workers could be exposed to any number of workplace hazards or industrial illnesses that may only develop later in life and prove themselves to be fatal.

A fatal accident is typically followed by formal investigations into the death, to find out more about how the accident happened. Common investigatory authorities are the police, the Health and Safety Executive, the coroners’ courts and inquests.

In a fatal accident injury claim, the findings of any such investigation will be vital evidence in support of your claim so it’s important to keep a record of police incident numbers, criminal convictions, and contact details of those carrying out the investigations.

The amount of compensation you may be awarded following the death of a loved one will be calculated based on a few different factors:

• Actual Losses – These are intended to cover costs incurred whilst caring for the injured person prior to their death as well as expenses such as funeral costs. If your loved one died later, the compensation may also cover actual loss of earnings and anything related to care such as medical fees, alterations to living spaces, etc
• Bereavement – Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 the spouse of a deceased person, or parents of a deceased child are eligible for a statutory lump sum bereavement award of £12,980 following a fatal accident
• Dependency – The remainder of any compensation awarded will be paid to those dependents who relied on the income of the deceased. This calculation will take into consideration loss of earnings, as well as future losses such as a loss of pension provision and any other work-related income such as bonuses and healthcare benefits

Any injury claim, including fatal accident claims, can be made on a no win no fee basis. This means if you don’t win, you don’t have to pay out any money. This takes a huge amount of stress off you when you’re already dealing with grief and the devastating effects of losing a loved one.

Anyone who is a close family member of the deceased can launch a compensation claim. Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, the qualifying parties include:

• The wife, husband or former wife or husband of the victim
• The civil partner or former civil partner of the deceased
• Anyone who had been living as a husband, wife or civil partner of the deceased for at least two years at the time of the accident
• Anyone who was a parent of the victim, or treated by the victim as a parent
• Any child or other descendant of the victim
• Any child who, via marriage or civil partnership, was treated as a child of the deceased
• Any brother, sister, uncle or aunt of the deceased