Imagine you lost your child because of a reckless driver or negligent medical care. It is every parent’s nightmare, and in this case, it was entirely avoidable. You then discover that your relationship to your child is not considered close enough to have that loss acknowledged through statutory bereavement compensation.

This is the case for a bereaved father in Northern Ireland if he was not married to his child’s mother at the time of the birth. The latest figures for Northern Ireland show that 46 per cent of people having babies are not married or in a civil partnership. The law is woefully out of touch.

It is not just a legal problem. The acceptance of modern family relationships is a serious societal issue.

The law is so rigid that many relatives are denied compensation if the closest person to them dies due to the negligence of someone else. No amount of money will ever bring their loved one back but the modest payment is at least some recognition of the loss and that the death should never have happened.

Devastated relatives say it is a further blow to learn their relationship was not close enough in the eyes of the law.

Bereaved families deserve a fair and modern law. A workable model already exists in Scotland, where eligibility is considered on a case-by-case basis meaning the closest people to the victim are not systematically excluded.

Jayne Knox and Una O’Neill

Northern Ireland joint co-ordinators

Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)

0115 943 5416