Fatal Accidents Act 1976

Fatal Accidents Act 1976

Allows dependants to claim for losses suffered due to wrongful death

Purpose (FAA)

Compensates dependants for financial and service loss caused by death

Who brings FAA claim

Usually personal representatives, or dependants if none

Nature of claim

Separate claim for dependants (NOT the deceased’s claim)

Key requirement (FAA)

Deceased must have had a valid claim if they had survived

Dependants (definition)

Persons listed in statute who relied on deceased financially or for services

Dependants (examples)

Spouse, civil partner, cohabitant (2 years), children, parents, relatives

Dependency requirement

Must show actual dependency OR reasonable expectation of benefit

Dependency meaning

Claim is based on loss suffered by claimant, not what deceased earned

Types of dependency

Financial dependency and services dependency

Financial dependency

Loss of income/support deceased would have provided

Services dependency

Loss of services (e.g. childcare, housework)

Bereavement damages

Fixed statutory award for limited category of claimants

Bereavement claimants

Spouse, civil partner, cohabitant (2+ years), parents of minor

Funeral expenses

Recoverable if reasonable

Limitation period (FAA)

3 years from death or date of knowledge

One action rule (FAA)

Only one claim brought for benefit of all dependants

Case

Pym v Great Northern Railway (1863)

Case principle (dependency)

No need for actual payments, expectation of support is enough

Case principle (modern)

Dependency focuses on claimant’s loss, not strict financial transfer

Assessment of dependency

Based on what deceased would have provided but for death

Calculation factors

Age, earnings, health, duration of support, family situation

Loss period (dependency)

Usually until expected retirement or end of dependency

Key distinction (FAA vs 1934 Act)

FAA = dependants’ loss, 1934 Act = deceased’s own losses