Fatal Accident Compensation Claims

Our personal injury department is led by Liam Crowley, a solicitor who has managed investigations and claims in many wrongful death cases for families who have lost loved ones in road traffic and workplace accidents. With more than 30 years of experience in personal injury, McCarthy + Co Solicitors LLP understands how daunting the idea of a claim can feel while you are grieving, and we handle these cases with sensitivity, patience, and discretion.

Fatal injury claims in Ireland are governed by Part IV of the Civil Liability Act 1961. A claim of this kind is not a single payment for the loss of a life, which no sum could ever represent, but a combination of different elements. Depending on your circumstances, a claim may include:

• a statutory payment for the mental distress, or grief, caused by the death, known as solatium;
• compensation for the loss of the financial support that the person provided to their dependants;
• the value of services the person provided without payment, such as childcare, care of a relative, or work around the home;
• funeral and burial expenses, and other costs arising directly from the death; and
• a separate claim by the person’s estate for any pain, suffering, and expense they experienced between the accident and their death.

We can explain which of these apply to your family. Arrange a time to speak with a solicitor by completing our quick and confidential online form.

How compensation is assessed

It helps to understand how these elements fit together, because the figures are widely misunderstood. The statutory payment for mental distress, the solatium, is capped by law at €35,000 in total. That single sum is shared among all of the qualifying family members, rather than paid to each of them, and where the family cannot agree how to divide it, the court decides. It is important to know that this cap applies only to the mental distress payment. It does not limit the rest of the claim.

The loss of financial dependency is not capped, and in most cases it is by far the largest part of an award. Where the person who died was supporting a family, the value of that lost support is calculated with the help of an actuary, taking account of their earnings, how long the support would have continued, and the circumstances of each dependant. The value of the unpaid services they provided is assessed in a similar way. The law also provides that money paid out because of the death, such as life insurance, a pension, or a death-in-service benefit, is not deducted from the compensation, so a family is not penalised for the person’s own foresight.

Who can bring a claim

A fatal injury claim is brought by one person on behalf of all of the dependants, rather than each person claiming separately. There is no order of priority, so the first eligible person to bring the claim does so for everyone entitled. Ideally this is agreed within the family, but it does not have to be, and any eligible dependant may proceed. Because the court must approve how any compensation is divided, every dependant’s position is protected regardless of who begins the claim.

The law defines dependants broadly. It includes a spouse or civil partner, a cohabitant who lived with the person for the required period, children, step-children, and grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and step-parents, and brothers, sisters, and half-siblings. In short, a wide range of close family members may be entitled, and we can advise you on who qualifies in your situation.

Claims for nervous shock

Separately from a dependant’s claim, a person who witnessed the accident that killed or seriously injured their loved one may be able to bring a claim for nervous shock. This compensates for a recognised psychiatric injury, rather than grief alone, suffered as a result of what they saw. Irish law sets specific conditions on these claims, and in general the person must have been present at the scene and have directly witnessed the event. If this may apply to you, we can advise whether the circumstances meet the legal test.