Justice for bereaved families in England and Wales trails behind the rest of the UK, lawyers have warned.
“When someone is killed at work or on the road because of someone else’s negligence, some relatives are eligible for compensation to help atone for their loss,” explained John McQuater, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) which represents injured people and bereaved families.
“But the system is out-of-touch and needs proper reform if it is ever to deliver justice for grieving relatives,” he said.
“In England and Wales, your loved one’s life costs the wrongdoer just £15,120. It is literally cheaper for a negligent employer to kill employees than to maim them,” Mr McQuater explained.
“The situation is worse here than the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland’s system is not much better but the justice department is at least making inflationary increases to the statutory sum paid, and has increased it this week to £17,200*.
“The list of family members who are eligible for bereavement compensation is far too rigid, and out-of-touch. Only bereaved spouses, civil partners, and parents of under-18s, and couples living together for more than two years are eligible,” he went on.
“A sibling or step-parent might be the closest relative someone has, and these relationships are totally disregarded.
“The Scottish system manages to have no problem with making case-by-case decisions and paying meaningful compensation amounts to people who are bereaved because of the needless deaths of their loved ones. There is no valid reason we can’t have that here,” he said.