Fatal Accidents Act 1976

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Fatal Accidents Act 1976
United Kingdom Parliament
Long title:	An Act to consolidate the Fatal Accidents Acts.
Statute book chapter:	1976 c. 30
Introduced by:
Territorial extent:	England and Wales[1]
Dates
Date of Royal Assent:	22 July 1976
Commencement:	1 September 1976[2]
Repeal date:	—
Other legislation
Amendments:	Administration of Justice Act 1982, ss. 3(1), 73(1)
Related legislation:	—
Repealing legislation:	—
Status: Current legislation
Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
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The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (c. 30) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that allows relatives of people killed by the wrongdoing of others to recover damages.

The Act received the royal assent on 22 July 1976, came into force on 1 September 1976 and applies only to England and Wales.

Contents 1 Background 2 The Act 3 References 4 Bibliography

[edit] Background

The Fatal Accidents Act 1846 had allowed claims for damages by the relatives of deceased persons for the first time. The 1976 Act modernised the process and repealed earlier legislation.

[edit] The Act

The Act allows claims as stipulated in s. 1(1):

If death is caused by any wrongful act, neglect or default which is such as would (if death had not ensued) have entitled the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, the person who would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured.

The Act allows claims under three heads:^[3][4]

• Dependency claim (s. 1) - A claim for economic loss by a restricted class of "dependant" defined in s.1(3).
• Bereavement claim (s. 1A) - A claim in recognition of grief by a further restricted class of "dependant", similar to a solatium in Scottish law. As of 2008, this is an award fixed by statute at £10,000.
• Funeral expenses (s. 3(5)) of the dependants.

An award must take account of any social security benefits received (s. 4).^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Dow, D. & Lill, J. (2007). Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Litigation. London: CLP, Ch. 15. ISBN 1-905391-28-5. 
• Law Commission (1997} "Consultation Paper - Claims for Wrongful Death", LCCP148
• — (1999) "Claims for Wrongful Death - A Final Report", LC263
• Lunney, M. & Oliphant, K. (2003). Tort Law: Text and Materials, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 851-868. ISBN 0-19-926055-9. 
• Speiser, S. M. (1988). Recovery for Wrongful Death and Injury, 3rd ed., London: Callaghan. ISBN 9999690823. 

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