Statutory bereavement damages in England and Wales have been increased to £15,120 for deaths which occur on or after 01/05/2020.
Before this date bereavement damages were capped at £12,980, which has been criticised by solicitors as being inadequate for claimants in England and Wales.
By comparison, in Scotland, bereavement damages are decided by assessing each individual case.
Following a landmark case in 2017, The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) had called on the Ministry of Justice to review the wider system in England and Wales for awarding bereavement damages. Unfortunately, that did not happen and the cap has instead been increased to what many solicitors feel is still too inadequate an amount.
Soyab Patel is Director at Specters and had the following comment on the new bereavement damages cap:
“The increased amount remains out of touch with what the majority of the public would consider appropriate. The Scottish system of assessing each claim individually should be adopted by the rest of the UK. As a Personal Injury practitioner dealing with fatal accidents the ‘increase’ leaves a lot to be desired.”
Soyab has many years of experience in dealing with a wide range of fatal injury cases, including the Grayrigg civil dispute that arose from a fatal train crash in 2007.
At KLS Law our caring and supportive staff understand the emotional trauma of losing a loved one in a fatal accident. We will help you find answers as to who or what was responsible for your loved one’s accident and help you claim fatal accident compensation to help and support you and your family through this difficult time.
