In news that was easy to miss this week, the bereavement award under s.1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 has been increased from £12,980 to £15,210. The increase, introduced by the Damages for Bereavement (Variation of Sum) (England and Wales) Order 2020, will apply only to causes of action which accrue on or after 1 May 2020 – so there is no need to hastily review ongoing cases! The award was last increased on 1 April 2013.
Currently, only the spouse or civil partner of the deceased, or the parents of a deceased unmarried child, are eligible for the award. The Court of Appeal, in Smith v Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 1916, held that this state of affairs was incompatible with Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, read in conjunction with Article 8. The Draft Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (Remedial) Order 2020 therefore proposes extending eligibility to the cohabiting partner of the deceased, defined as any person who –
Where more than one person is eligible (for example a spouse from whom the deceased was separated and a cohabiting partner), the award will be shared equally between them.
This week we examine an unusual arbitration case involving (or did it?) a foreign limitation period; and another decision on the tension between open justice and protection of commercially sensitive information (we understand, by the way, that on 25th February the Court of Appeal will…
This week we look at two decisions, both of which will be of critical importance to practitioners in pursuance of contested litigation. In one, unusually, without prejudice correspondence was admissible in a case involving fundamental dishonesty; whilst in the other, the court reviewed the authorities…
Following a 5-day liability trial in the High Court in Manchester, the Claimant’s negligence and Human Rights Act claims were dismissed by HHJ Bird sitting as a Judge of the High Court. The Claimant was a Type 1 diabetic who suffered from a history of…
Deka Chambers: 5 Norwich Street, London EC4A 1DR