For advice call 0800 612 8196

fatal accident claims

We understand that claiming compensation for a fatal accident cannot bring your loved one back, but we can help you to hold someone accountable for your loss, and ease the financial struggle you might be facing.
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Overview

Supporting you and your family after the death of a loved one

Coming to terms with the death of a loved one is always going to be difficult. But if the cause of death was someone else’s fault, it can be even more devastating and hard to come to terms with.

We'll guide you through the process of making a claim and act in a professional, sensitive and sympathetic manner at all times. We will also put you in touch with relevant support networks that can help you start to come to terms with your loss.

 

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Work closely with RoadPeace, providing information and support services to people bereaved in road crashes

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Dedicated rehabilitation & support coordinators to help you access the specialist help you need

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Our client stories

Support for family after wife and mother killed in a road traffic collision

We supported Ibrahim and his young children after his wife, Lorna, was sadly killed in a road traffic collision with a lorry. Find out how we helped them access financial and emotional support, settled their claim, and provided ongoing assistance.

Client Stories

Our partners

Work with RoadPeace

We're on the legal panel for RoadPeace, a national charity supporting people who have been bereaved or seriously injured in road crashes. As part of our work with the charity in the West Midlands, we created an anthology of stories, poems and drawings of people impacted by road death. The anthology aims to support those who find themselves bereaved after road death, as well as a call for change and a call for society to stop accepting these needless deaths.

View the Anthology
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Our support

How we can help you

We understand that for many people, making a claim is about getting justice for a loved one and proving that someone was to blame for what happened. We will fully explore the accident circumstances surrounding the death of your loved one. We have the complex legal knowledge to guide you through this process and support you and your family at this difficult time.

Why choose us?
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Caroline Trinder

Rehabilitation and Support Lead

Our rehabilitation and support coordinators

We have a dedicated team of rehabilitation and support coordinators, who all have a background in health and social care, who can help you to access the emotional and psychological support you might need to help you to grieve for your loved one.

  • Specialist support at the earliest stage, alongside your legal team
  • Plugging any gaps in the care you're receiving
  • Emergency fund to pay for initial emotional input
  • Psychological support and arranging counselling
  • Exploring grants and funding options available to you

Our Process

Guiding people through the legal process

Making a claim after you've lost a loved one can be extremely difficult and bring back memories. Our team are compassionate and empathetic and will help you every step of the way.

1
Free meeting without the need to go ahead with a claim
We’ll come to see you face to face wherever you feel comfortable to find out more about you and your family, what you’re worried about and how we can start helping you. We’ll also talk to you about how your case can be funded, so you’ll have peace of mind and reassurance that making a claim won’t cost you money, even if your claim isn’t successful. We don’t believe in taking money off injured people like some other firms, so there are no hidden charges
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Introduce our Rehabilitation and Support Team

Once we understand what’s worrying you, our Rehabilitation and Support Team will be in touch to understand more about your needs and to help you access the urgent support you need. The team include health and social care professionals who can help to plug any gaps in your support. They're on hand to provide you with the emotional and psychological support you might need.

3
Contact the other side to get the ball rolling
We’ll send a letter of claim to the defendant insurers—this is basically a letter telling them what’s happened and why we think they’re responsible. It’s important we make contact with the defendant insurers as soon as possible to make sure your claim can move forward without any delays. They’re allowed time to look into what’s happened and tell us if they admit they’re to blame, they think they’re partly to blame, or they deny blame all together. Sometimes, there’s no response at all. 
4
Asking for interim payments

You might be worried about the impact losing a loved one has had on you and money worries. While steps one to three are ongoing, we’ll also be asking the defendant insurers for interim payments. These are payments that you get as soon as possible before your case has settled that can help pay for any ongoing financial difficulties you might be facing.

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Gathering evidence

Next, we’ll start gathering the evidence. This could be to help prove that the other person involved was to blame (known as liability), medical evidence that shows the injuries which ended in the death of your loved one were caused by the incident (causation) and any receipts and wage slips to value your claims (quantum). Liability evidence could be CCTV or police reports, and receipts can include funeral expenses and any proof of loss of earnings from the person who has died.

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Getting you the support you need

As we carry on gathering all the information to build your case, we’ll be working alongside professionals who are specialists in bereavement to make sure you have the wraparound support you need. We’ll keep working with the defendant insurers to get all this funded for you while your claim is still ongoing so that you don’t have to wait.

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Working out how much your claim is worth

After gathering all the evidence, we’ll also calculate how much your claim should be worth. We'll look at any funeral costs and expenses you have incurred, as well as how losing your loved ones has impacted your financial situation. Claims for fatal injury will also include a Statutory Bereavement Award. This compensation is awarded to the family in recognition of the grief a person has gone through after the death of a loved one, as well as a financial token in recognition that the person's death was wrongful.

 

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Fighting for your best possible outcome
Throughout your whole case we’ll be negotiating with the defendants—whether it’s to get them to accept they’re to blame, agree to release some interim payments to help to support you and your family, or discussing how much compensation you should get. We’ll always fight for your best possible outcomes.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Here are the answers to a few of the questions we get asked regularly. But if you have any other questions, please get in touch. We're here to help.

See all FAQ's

What is included in a fatal accident claim?

Although no amount of money can bring your loved one back, making a fatal accident claim can help lighten your financial burden. Claims for fatal injury can include a Statutory Bereavement Award. This compensation is awarded in recognition of the grief someone has experienced after the death of a spouse or long term partner, or of a child under 18 years old, as well as a financial token in recognition that the person's death was wrongful.

There are also other costs and expenses that can be claimed for, including:

  • The pain and suffering of the deceased
  • Repayment of losses, for example, funeral expenses
  • Loss of income and financial support from the deceased
  • In some circumstances the cost of probate
  • Compensation for services the deceased would have performed (e.g. housework, childcare, etc.)

Contact us for advice: 0800 612 8196 advice@cfglaw.co.uk

Will there be an inquest?

An inquest will need to be held if the cause of death was sudden, violent or unknown. An inquest will consider the circumstances of the death and how it happened and is managed by a Coroner.

We are here to provide you with the help and support you need during an inquest. We will be able to talk you through the process and how it works, and can also attend the inquest alongside you to offer you the legal and emotional support you need.

The Coroner who deals with your inquest will have dealt with many inquests before; they will understand your needs at this difficult time and will be considerate of your feelings.

Contact us for advice: 0800 612 8196 advice@cfglaw.co.uk

What happens if the person who has died has children?

If the person who has died has children, they may be able to make a dependency claim to compensate them for any financial support or services that the deceased would have provided if they were alive. This can include things such as childcare provision.

Contact us for advice: 0800 612 8196 advice@cfglaw.co.uk

Who can make a dependency claim?

As well as children or descendants, there are other people who may be eligible to make a dependency claim. These include:

  • Husbands, wives, civil partners or former husbands, wives and civil partners
  • Couples who have lived in the same home for at least two years
  • The parent of the person who has died or treated as a parent (e.g., stepparent)
  • Where the person who has died was married or in a civil partnership, any person they treated as a child or parent (such as a stepchild)
  • Siblings, aunts and uncles

Contact us for advice: 0800 612 8196 advice@cfglaw.co.uk

Get in touch

Request a callback,
or call 0800 612 8196

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