Over the years, modern culture and the law has changed to reflect the rights of co-habiting couples and partners in long-term relationships as being to some extent on par with those who are married or in a civil partnership.
However, in terms of personal injury claims, bereavement damages, which are a fixed fee sum awarded when a fatal accident takes place, are only payable to a very small category of claimants;
(a) either a bereaved spouse ; or
(b) where the deceased was a minor who never married by;
a. either of his parents if the deceased was legitimate; or
b. the mother of the deceased if the child was illegitimate.
Damages for bereavement are currently set at a figure of £12,980.00.
Therefore, despite the length or closeness of the relationship to the deceased person, unless you are within the above restrictive category of claimants, you are not entitled to claim for bereavement damages for the loss of that person.
However, this is now about to change following the case of Jakki Smith, who took the Government to court in 2017 on the basis that they had breached her human rights in denying her bereavement damages following the death of her partner of 16 years, John Bulloch. Mr Bulloch died in 2011 after an infection was missed by medics.
Miss Smith alleged that by denying her bereavement damages, as a long term cohabitee, this violated her right to respect for private and family life and was discriminatory under the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR”).
The Court of Appeal on 28 November 2017 agreed with Miss Smith and gave her permission to challenge the High Court ruling, declaring that the exclusion of cohabitees from being awarded bereavement damages was incompatible with the ECHR.
As a result of this decision, the Ministry of Justice have now announced that they are drafting a remedial order to amend the Fatal Accident Act 1976 to reflect the injustice that is currently experienced by cohabitees. The proposed order is to state that bereavement damages would be available to claimants who can prove that they had co-habited with the deceased person for a period of at least 2 years immediately prior to that persons’ death.
The order would also provide that in a situation where there was a qualifying spouse of the deceased and a qualifying co-habittee (i.e. where the deceased was still married and not yet divorced but had been in a new relationship with the co-habittee), then the award would be divided equally between the 2 potential claimants.
It is good to see that the Government are taking positive steps now to remedy a long overdue change required in the current legislation surrounding bereavement damages and to provide recognition of modern day long term relationships.
If you would like any advice or assistance arising out of a fatal accident claim, please contact our Louise Plant on 01473 232121 or email lplant@prettys.co.uk.
