JMK Solicitors have welcomed an announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that statutory bereavement damages will increase from £14,200 to £15,100 on 1st May 2019. Where a death has been caused by another person’s negligence, there is a statutory right for the deceased person’s dependants to claim for damages, for example, for the deceased person’s loss of earnings.
The bereavement award is a token payment in acknowledgement of the grief caused by the deceased’s death. It is not intended to reflect the value of the deceased’s life or to punish the defendant.
Maurece Hutchinson, Managing Director of JMK Solicitors, who are Northern Ireland’s leading road traffic and personal injury law firm, said “We are pleased that the DOJ have made this positive decision to increase damages in line with inflation as per commitments made back in 2014. JMK Solicitors are accredited members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), who have campaigned for this increase and it is only being implemented in Northern Ireland at this time, not England or Wales”.
APIL commissioned consumer research in 2013 to discover public attitudes to bereavement damages. Of the 2,000 people surveyed, more than half thought bereavement damages should be more than £100,000.
JMK Solicitors are Northern Ireland’s Number 1 Personal Injury Specialists. With a team of over 100 people including a team of personal injury solicitors, we assist clients all over Northern Ireland. If you have suffered a personal injury, been in a road traffic accident, or had an accident at work, contact our team for a free consultation.
Call us today on 028 9032 0222 or email us law@jmksolicitors.com
