Fatal medical accident claims

Fieldfisher solicitors specialise in fatal accident claims.

If you have suffered bereavement as a result of medical negligence, financial dependents of the deceased may be able to claim for the resulting loss of financial support.

We particularly specialise in high-value dependency claims, often involving high-earning individuals with complex financial affairs. We deal with all cases sensitively and with empathy and work hard to collate evidence to recover substantial damages for those left behind, including the costs of loss of service the deceased would have provided to their family.

We also support families and individuals at inquest.

Who can claim?

A dependent is defined as:

• A wife, husband, ex-wife or ex-husband of the deceased
• A civil partner or former civil partner of the deceased (who had been living with the deceased for at least two years)
• A child of the deceased
• Any person (not being a child of the deceased) who was treated as a child of the family
• A parent of the deceased
• A sibling, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or cousin of the deceased

What you can claim

You can claim damages under two separate Acts:

Under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, you can claim:

• Pain, suffering and loss of amenity (from the date of injury to the date of death)
• Special damages (from the date of injury up to the date of death) including loss or earnings, medical expenses and treatment, damage to clothing and property, care (professional or gratuitous) and travel expenses.
• Funeral expenses
• Probate fees
• One-off expenses and losses

Under the Fatal Accidents Act, you can claim:

• A statutory bereavement award;
• A dependency claim for the financial losses suffered by the dependents of the deceased;
• A claim for the funeral expenses, if paid by the dependents.

Statutory bereavement award

If the deceased was your wife, husband or child (under the age of 18) at the date of death, you are eligible for a fixed sum of £12,980. This is paid in addition to any dependency claim.

The Government is currently considering proposals to bring the rights of co-habitees in line with those who are married, under the Human Rights Act 1998. Currently, a long-term partner can claim many of the same items under the Fatal Accident Act as a bereaved spouse, but not the Statutory Bereavement Award – i.e. would receive £12,980 less than a married person in a successful civil claim.