Changes to compensation for bereavement

If you have suffered the loss of someone you love due to an accident or medical negligence you may be entitled to compensation from the person responsible or their insurers. Though nothing can ever truly compensate for the avoidable death of someone you love there have been two recent changes in the law, both of which will help claimants.

The first is a very modest rise in the lump sum known as ‘bereavement damages’. This is a fixed amount of compensation which can be claimed in addition to claims for financial losses such as funeral expenses and loss of financial support. The amount of bereavement damages if the death occurred on or after 1 May 2020 has increased from £12,980 to £15,120. It’s a tiny amount, but this is the first increase in 7 years.

The second change is that the categories of people able to make a claim for bereavement damages has been extended. Until recently, such claims were limited to spouses, civil partners, children under the age of 18 and parents of children under the age of 18. In particular, cohabitees were excluded. As of 6 October, cohabitees, including same sex partners, can also claim providing they had been living as if they were husband and wife or civil partner with the deceased in the same household for at least two years immediately before the death. This applies to deaths occurring on or after 6 October.

The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.