Compensation Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work

By Lewis Aaliyah. Last Updated 4th May 2023. In this guide, we look at payouts for fatal accidents at work. If your loved one passed away as a result of a work related injury, you might be interested in who can make a fatal accident claim. Additionally, you may like to know when a fatality in the workplace could mean someone is eligible to claim compensation.

payouts for fatal accidents at work

Payouts for fatal accidents at work guide

Employees are owed a duty of care while at work. If they suffer injuries because their employer breaches this, they may be able to make an accident at work claim. If your loved one passed away due to fatal injuries caused by negligence, certain relatives may qualify to make a claim on behalf of the deceased. 

You might like to make a claim on behalf of the deceased with the support of a No Win No Fee solicitor. To finish this guide, we look at what it means to access legal representation on a No Win No Fee basis. 

Our advisors are here to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All the advice they give is free. To speak to a member of our team:

Select A Section

  1. What Are Compensation Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work?
  2. Criteria To Claim For Fatal Accidents At Work
  3. How To Prove Liability For Fatal Accidents At Work
  4. What Are The Most Common Fatal Work Injuries?
  5. Make A Fatal Workplace Accident Claim
  6. Learn More About Compensation Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work

What Are Compensation Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work?

In this section, we look at what damages could be claimed if your loved one died due to employer negligence. An explanation of who can claim on behalf of the deceased is provided in the next section. 

Payouts for fatal accidents at work may include compensation to cover:

  • The pain and suffering of the deceased caused by the accident. 
  • Loss of service. This could cover the cost of services that the deceased provided; for example, if they were responsible for childcare and they now need to pay someone for this. 
  • Loss of consortium or loss of a special person. This could cover the loss of a romantic or sexual relationship, or of companionship offered by the deceased. 
  • Bereavement award. This is set as £15,120 under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and we will look at it in further detail in the next section. 
  • Funeral costs. 

How Much Are Fatal Workplace Accidents Worth?

If you have lost a loved one in a fatality at work, compensation could be awarded for the pain and suffering they experienced prior to their death.

When valuing claims for a death in the workplace, many legal professionals will use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. This document lists compensation guidelines for various injuries at different severities. We have used some of the amounts listed in the 16th edition of the JCG for the table below.

Please only use this table as a guide.

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Type of Harm Notes Compensation Bracket
Fatality and claim add-ons This includes payment for the deceased’s pain and suffering as well as additional payments for how the dependents were affected. up to £550,000
Tetraplegia/Quadriplegia The award considers level of awareness, life expectancy and pain levels. £324,600 to £403,990
Paraplegia Considerations are made of pain levels, degree of independence, the deceased’s age and life expectancy. £219,070 to £284,260
Very Severe Brain Damage A requirement for full-time care as a result of very serious disabilities. £282,010 to £403,990
Severe Psychiatric Damage The award considers the ability to cope with life and the effect on relationships. £54,830 to £115,730
Death – Full Awareness In this bracket, the deceased experienced full awareness followed by fluctuating consciousness levels prior to their passing. £12,540 to £23,810

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about claims for fatal workplace accidents. Our friendly team of advisors is available to help you 24/7.

Criteria To Claim For Fatal Accidents At Work

Following the passing of a loved one, you may wonder who is eligible to claim on their behalf. For the first six months following their death, only the estate can make a claim. This is according to the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. The claim can include compensation for the deceased’s pain and suffering, the losses incurred prior to their passing and a claim for the benefit of any dependants. 

If at least six months have passed since their death with no claim made by the estate, certain relatives can claim for how the deceased’s death affected them under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. However, dependents cannot make a claim for the pain and suffering experienced by the deceased.

The Fatal Accidents Act defines a qualifying dependent as:

  • The deceased’s current or former husband, wife or civil partner. 
  • A person who lived with the deceased as if they were a spouse for two years before their passing. 
  • A parent, or a person treated as a parent by the deceased, such as a step-parent. 
  • The deceased’s child, or persons treated as children by the deceased, including step-children and step-children from a previous marriage. 
  • Siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins of the deceased. 

As stated above, certain relatives might qualify for a bereavement award set at £15,120. This would be split if awarded to more than one party. Qualifying relatives include:

  • A spouse or civil partner. 
  • A person who lived with the deceased as if they were married for two prior to their passing. 
  • Parents if the deceased was an unmarried minor. 

How Long Do You Have To Claim For A Fatal Accident At Work?

In addition to being a qualifying relative, fatal accident claims must be started within the time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 means that claimants typically have three years to begin proceedings. This could be three years following the fatal injuries or three years after the accident was connected to negligence, which could be after an inquest or post-mortem.

There are certain circumstances that will affect the time limit. Call our advisors for more information about payouts for fatal accidents at work. 

How To Prove Liability For Fatal Accidents At Work

As was stated earlier, to qualify for compensation on behalf of the deceased, your relative must have suffered fatal injuries due to their employer failing to adhere to health and safety legislation. 

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) is the main piece of workplace health and safety legislation. It is under this that all employees are owed a duty of care. This states, employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure employee health, safety and welfare in the workplace. 

If your loved one was owed this duty of care and they suffered fatal injuries because of an employer breach in it, you will be expected to provide evidence proving liability. 

Evidence that could be helpful in a fatal accident at work claim may include:

  • A coroner’s report, or potentially an inquest report. 
  • Medical records. These could help to demonstrate the pain and suffering 
  • Witness contact details so they can provide a statement at a later date. 
  • Results of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. The HSE regulates workplace health and safety.  

Our advisors can help you gather evidence to prove employer liability. Contact us using the details at the top of this page.  

What Are The Most Common Fatal Work Injuries?

As part of their role in enforcing workplace health and safety, the HSE collects statistics on workplace accidents. They published a report on work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain covering annual statistics for the year up to March 2022. 

For the year 2021/22, 123 workers suffered fatal injuries. Of these:

  • 29 deaths occurred due to falls from height. 
  • 23 fatalities due to being struck by a moving vehicle. 
  • 18 fatal accidents involved being struck by moving objects, including flying and falling items. 
  • 14 deaths happened because a person was trapped by an object collapsing or overturning. 

Our advisors can help you understand when payouts for fatal accidents at work may be possible. Call us on the number at the top of the screen. 

Make A Fatal Workplace Accident Claim

When making a claim after someone has passed away due to negligence, you might be interested in having the support of a solicitor under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. 

Under this type of agreement, your solicitor generally won’t ask you to pay for their services upfront. They usually won’t ask you to pay for ongoing costs either. If they succeed, they will take a success fee out of the award. The CFA caps the amount that can be taken. Should your solicitor fail to recover compensation, they usually won’t ask you to pay for their services. 

Discuss Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work With Our Team

Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer any questions you may have about payouts for fatal accidents at work. They can help you understand how to claim for a fatal accident.

Additionally, they can check the claim’s eligibility. If it seems like you could be owed compensation, you could be connected to a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. 

To speak to an advisor:

Learn More About Compensation Payouts For Fatal Accidents At Work

We hope that this guide looking at payouts for fatal accidents at work has been helpful. If you would like to read more of our guides, we have included links below: 

External links that might be useful:

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