Bereavement Award

When there has been an avoidable death, whether due to clinical negligence or personal injury, the loved ones of the Deceased, as well as dealing with their grief surrounding their loss, will be dealing with the practicalities of the loss, such as dealing with their estate and also looking to bring a claim for compensation.

As part of such a claim, this can include seeking what is known as a Bereavement Award. As outlined below, the Bereavement Award is only available to a certain category of person, namely:

1. The wife, husband or civil partner of the Deceased;
2. The Deceased’s partner, if they had been living together for two years or more;
3. Parents of a Deceased child, if the parents were married or in a civil partnership; or
4. The mother of a Deceased child, where the parents are unmarried.

The Bereavement Award is limited to those who the government define as being family, namely “a spouse, civil partner or parent of a child under 18 years”. This is a very outdated view given that, for example, approximately 22.7% of couples in the UK living together are unmarried (as of 2022).

This restrictive view of family by the Government leaves specific loved ones at a disadvantage when it comes to claiming a Bereavement Award, including parents of children over 18 years of age, unmarried couples who do not live together, and unmarried fathers. We recognise that no one ever wants to have to claim for a Bereavement Award but it seems fundamentally flawed that so many are excluded from claiming for it when they will feel the loss of a loved one just as much as those included in the government view of “family”.

Even if you are entitled to claim a Bereavement Award, the current provision is shockingly low when it is considered that it is acknowledging the significant loss a family experiences when a loved one dies as a result of negligence.

Fatal Accident Act 1976

Under the Fatal Accident Act 1976, which is the law that sets the Bereavement Award which can be recovered in claims for personal injury and medical negligence involving a death, the current bereavement award is £15,120.

You will see in the following Article and blog (APIL news) that the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are lobbying the government to take the same approach as Scotland, which offers no fixed amount for bereavement damages. In Scotland, when bringing a fatal claim, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach, each death is assessed on a case-by-case basis when calculating the Bereavement Award, in order to recognise the closeness of family members not included under the current eligibility of the system.

Although compensation cannot bring back a loved one and no amount of money can ever truly compensate for the loss, we recognise that financial compensation can help those left behind. That is why Williamsons Solicitors are backing APIL and their continued efforts to change the Government’s views of the everyday family and bring the Bereavement Damages System to the 21st century.

If you think you have a case for medical negligence or personal injury please contact Williamsons on 01482 323697 to speak to someone who has the skills, knowledge and experience to assist.