Fatal Medical Negligence claims.

When medical negligence causes a death, the law allows the family to bring a claim — both for what the deceased went through, and for the losses the death causes to those left behind. These claims sit alongside the inquest process, and families often need support with both.

Two statutes do the work. The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 allows the estate to recover for the deceased's pain and suffering before death and expenses such as funeral costs. The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 gives dependants — spouses, partners, children and others who relied on the deceased — a claim for their financial and practical losses, plus, in England and Wales, a fixed statutory bereavement award for qualifying relatives (Scotland and Northern Ireland assess bereavement differently).

The heart of most fatal claims is the dependency calculation: what income, pension, childcare and practical support did the family lose? These calculations are genuinely complex — modern families have blended households, variable earnings, self-employment and shared caring roles — and valuing the dependency properly often makes the difference of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Specialist advice matters most here.

Any of the failings on this site can found a fatal claim — missed sepsis, heart attacks or cancer, surgical and anaesthetic errors, missed bleeds and aneurysms. The limitation period is generally 3 years from the date of death, or from the family's knowledge that substandard care may have contributed. Where an inquest is pending, it usually takes place first and its findings often inform the claim.