At the time he died he had a right to recover damages and ... Not for co-habitants; only for: â Wife, husband or civil
Fatal Accidents Act claims the oddities all too likely to arise
ROGER COOPER STEPHEN FRIDAY
PARKLANE PLOWDEN LEEDS | NEWCASTLE
A quirk of history At common law though claims for injury have a long history, claims for death never were allowed and it was only because
That the first statute was passed in 1846
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Some chilling statistics 2012 •1754 deaths on the road •420 pedestrians •328 motor cycle users •118 cyclists •280 drink related •148 employment fatal accidents •39 construction •29 agriculture
2010 •11,438 accidental deaths •435 killed by complications of medical care
The nature of the cause of action The deceased must have been injured by the fault of
the defendant He must have died in consequence of such injury At the time he died he had a right to recover damages and The beneficiaries have suffered pecuniary loss from the death.
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Classes of dependants Wife/husband , former wife/husband Civil partner, former civil partner Cohabitant In same household as deceased immediately before death; At least 2 years During the whole of that period as husband and wife. Parent or other ascendant Person treated by deceased as parent. Child of the deceased or other descendant
Yet more dependants Person, not a child of deceased, who in relation to a
marriage of the deceased, was treated as a child of that marriage Ditto re civil partnership Any person who is, or is the issue of a sibling, uncle or aunt of the deceased. Step children included. Half siblings included. Illegitimate treated as legitimate.
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CO-HABITANTS 2 years in same household. Swift v Sec. State for Justice 2 year qualification justified as proportionate means of pursing a legitimate aim Kotke v Saffarini 2 years in same household question of fact Pounder v London Underground Brief periods of separation do not preclude qualification.
Marriage - does it matter? Yes • as to multiplier • as to bereavement damages
• complex family relationships • potential for conflict with other dependants
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And so..... • Surprising there are not more cases of conflict of interest •See •Pounder v London Underground
•Remembering only one claim can be brought- subject to ruling in Cachia v Faluyi
BEREAVEMENT AWARDS £12,980 for deaths from 1.4.2013. Not for co-habitants; only for:
Wife, husband or civil partner of deceased
Where deceased was a minor who had never married, his parents if legitimate or his mother if illegitimate.
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The simplest of claims A happily married 40 yr. old father of two young children -10 and 8 Earning £40,000p.a. net at date of death Company car / fringe benefits Slightly younger wife at home Children state educated Dies instantly
And so • Fix multipliers as at death (Cookson) • Multiplicands (income) • Conventional 75% with children at home (Harris) • Conventional 66.6% when children leave home •Remember value of fringe benefits •Remember post retirement dependency •Father’s/Husband’s services? •Add funeral expenses •Add bereavement damages •Apportion
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But be prepared to be flexible As to use of percentages for the very high or very low
earner
See Owen v Martin
As to duration of dependency Life expectancy Marriage stability Children at home
The figures Trial 3 years post death Income would by then have risen to £44,000 net Retirement at 65 with employment pension of
£20,000 + state pension of £10,000 Car and benefits worth £6,000 p.a.
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Bingo Bereavement Funeral expenses
£12,980 (+ interest) £5,000 (+ interest)
Life time multiplier (his), say 26.5 Multiplier from death to 65, say 16.5 Multiplier to youngest child age 21, say 11 3 years to death £46,000 x 75% 8 years of 75% 0f £50,000 5.5 years at 66.6% 0f £50,000 10 years at 66.6% of £30,000
£103,500 (+ interest) £300,000 £183,500 £200,000
SAY £805,000 (Really?) (NB without services claims)
Apportionment- pragmatic There is a tradition of leaving bulk to widow, but What if she dies/remarries –are children catered for? Could an arithmetical calculation be done?
See Goodburn v Thomas And in this case.....????
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Lets make it a little more complicated
Might affect the multiplicand and indeed the multiplier
Might affect the multiplier see D v Donald
Factors to reduce the dependency Botched DIY “showed marriage was doomed”
Husband's adultery cuts widow's claim S. D. 30, said she had "worshipped the ground walked on" by her
husband, Jason, and was shocked to discover his double life. E. S. , who survived when the bike crashed in Hull in 1996, also had no idea there was a wife and considered herself his fiancée, the court was told
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A long and lingering death and a memorable funeral
An award for PSLA may be substantial See Murray v Shuter
In St George v Turner £50,000 award for funeral
Back to Mr & Mrs Happy Family She was working part time But paying for child care She decides to stay at home and give the children all her attention She is assisted by receipt of •A large occupational widow’s pension •A large life insurance payout •Payments made under a mortgage protection policy
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Section 4 - a very wide provision Pre 1976 all collateral benefits potentially relevant “ In assessing damages in respect of a person’s death benefits which have accrued or will or may accrue to any person from his estate or otherwise as a result of his death shall be disregarded” Arnup v White 2008 –the process now only involves one stage –section 3 quantification
Section 4 And none of Mrs Happy’s benefits are deductable All flow from the death Are any such collateral benefits ever to be set off?
See Arnup v White Double recovery inherent in the statute: McIntyre v Harland & Woolf Thus only the unmeritorious claim of Mrs Popow in Auty v NCB remains
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What of her income (or lack of)? Was £15,000 • The conventional approach Coward v Comex Houlder • • • • • •
Diving £46,000 + £15,000 x 75% less £15,000 = £30,750 p.a. (Why?) £50,000 + £15,000 x 66.6% less £15,000 = £28,333 (p.a) What if she doesn’t return to work? What if she takes the chance to get a better paid job Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust v Williams What of the £7,000 child care?
And after an appropriate period of grief… Will it affect my claim?
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Is the law sexist? Always thought widower’s prospects of remarriage relevant?
But see Topp v London Country Bus Potential breach of Article 14?
A change of victim •The wife dies •She wasn’t in paid employment •But she was the perfect wife and mother
Don’t forget Regan v Williamson
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Father can’t cope
See Manning v Kings College
Grandparents –the cheap alternative
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And after a suitable period of grief •A new friend moves in •Remarriage beckons •She’s almost as good a cook •And financially independent Topp v London Country Bus Stanley v Saddique L v Barry May Haulage
They were both in the car! He was the passenger not wearing a seat belt Statute provides
She was the driver who went through red lights See Dodds v Dodds
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A tragedy - orphaned so young Consider: •Hay v Hughes •Kassam v Kampala Aerated Water •Watson v Willmott
Back to the Happy Family The deceased was not only a marriage partner but a business partner /employee After the death •The business fails •Wolfe v Del’Innocenti •The business thrives •Welsh Ambulance v Williams
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A need for careful analysis
Malyon v Plummer Burgess v Florence Nightingale Hospital
Was the dependency a family one or purely business?
Or was this a “notional” salary that would not continue?
The richer the couple the more complicated Steer clear of Davies v Whiteway Ciders Wood v Bentall Simplex
Cape Distribution v O’Loughlin
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And also The carer Can be complicated whichever one dies –disabled /
able bodied
Riches ahead? Promotion on the horizon? A hoped for inheritance? A personal injury award awaited?
Singh v Atkin
Or looming unemployment / a life of crime? Burns v Edman Hunter v Butler
And thereafter struggling on a state pension?
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The Human Rights Act •Worth thinking about alternative claims if a public body is involved and if there are problems as to statutory definitions –dependants /bereavement •But see •Swift v Secretary of State for Justice 2013
Any Questions
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