Bereavement Damages

When the worst does happen, bereaved people need our support and compassion, and it should not matter where in the United Kingdom they live. But it does. The way bereaved families are treated by the law is a postcode lottery.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, bereaved people who claim compensation are treated by a law which is rigid, discriminatory, and woefully out of date. Not everyone who loses a relative is entitled to compensation, even if their relationship was incredibly close. The law even denies compensation to a grieving father if his child was labelled by the law as "illegitimate". In England and Wales, as set out in section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, those eligible for bereavement damages are:

• The wife, husband, or civil partner of the deceased;
• a cohabiting partner of at least two years of the deceased;
• where the deceased was a minor who was never married or in a civil partnership, the parents if the minor was legitimate, or just the mother if the minor was illegitimate.

The statutory amount of bereavement damages in England and Wales is £15,120. 

All of the above except cohabitees are eligible for bereavement damages in Northern Ireland, where the statutory amount is £17,200.

In Scotland it is different. The law has no difficulty recognising the closeness between parents, children of all ages, grandparents, siblings and other people who lived with the deceased as part of the family.

APIL is campaigning to put an end to this postcode lottery, and for the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow the modern law of Scotland. You can find out more about our work on bereavement damages below:

Bereavement Damages: A Dis-United Kingdom

Fatal Accidents Act (Remedial) Order 2020

Get involved

Bereavement Damages: A Dis-United Kingdom

In April 2021, APIL published ‘Bereavement Damages: A Dis-United Kingdom’. This research report examines the different laws across the UK, and shares the stories of those who have been both supported or let down by those laws. It also includes exclusive YouGov research, commissioned by APIL, on public attitudes to the law on bereavement damages.

The research report was launched at a live webinar. You can watch a recording of the launch event below.

Get involved

APIL members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can support the campaign by writing to their elected representatives in either the House of Commons or the Northern Ireland Assembly. To get involved, and for help and advice in writing to politicians, please contact Sam Ellis at [email protected] or on 0115 943 5426.

Victims and Prisoners Bill

The Government has proposed the creation of independent public advocates (IPAs) to support victims and their families after a major incident. The proposals have been included in the Victims and Prisoners Bill. It is the experience of our members who support victims and their families after major incidents that initially they do not know where to turn for advice and support. Some victims and families may have the support of a specialist lawyer who can help, but this involvement may not happen for weeks, months or even years after the incident. Some people may not involve a lawyer at all. An IPA will, therefore, provide a necessary and important role for victims and their families. It must, however, have the appropriate resources if it is to work effectively for victims and their families. 

APIL's parliamentary briefing for House of Commons second reading