APIL Guide to Fatal Accidents Fifth edition

Fatal accident litigation presents lawyers with legal, evidential and practical problems that are distinct from those encountered in non-fatal personal injury claims. Who is entitled to bring a claim? Who falls within the statutory definition of a dependant? What financial and services dependency has been lost - and how should that loss be calculated? How should the lawyer deal with the inquest, the estate and the needs of a recently bereaved family?

The fifth edition of the APIL Guide to Fatal Accidents provides comprehensive and practical guidance on every stage of a fatal accident claim. It explains how to identify all the available claims, obtain the necessary evidence, avoid procedural and evidential pitfalls and secure appropriate compensation for the family, dependants and estate of the deceased.

The fifth edition has been extensively revised and updated to reflect important developments in legislation, case law, practice and the assessment of damages. It includes:

• Updated guidance on who can claim as a dependant, including the position of cohabitees, children, adult children and other family members.
• Detailed consideration of financial dependency, services dependency and the loss of reasonably expected future benefits.
• Revised guidance on multipliers, periods of loss and the application of the Eighth Edition of the Ogden Tables.
• Updated treatment of bereavement damages, funeral expenses, pre-death losses and claims on behalf of the estate.
• Substantially revised treatment of inquests and the Coroner's Court, including preparing clients for an inquest, funding and the recovery of inquest costs in subsequent civil proceedings.
• Updated consideration of human rights claims arising from a death, including Articles 2 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Revised guidance on limitation, service, substitution of parties, pleadings, evidence, settlement and approval.
• A dedicated examination of the common mistakes made in fatal accident litigation - and the practical steps that can be taken to avoid them.
• Updated guidance on criminal injuries compensation following a death.

A new series of practical checklists

A major feature of the fifth edition is a new and substantially expanded series of practical checklists. These are designed to guide the practitioner through the claim from the first interview to final settlement or trial.

The checklists address the initial investigation of the claim, identifying the correct claimant and all potential dependants, claims by the estate, financial and services dependency, documentary and witness evidence, funeral expenses, bereavement damages, limitation, pleadings, schedules of loss, settlement and approval.

They are intended both to ensure that potentially valuable claims are not overlooked and to identify common procedural, evidential and calculation errors before they cause difficulties. They provide a practical framework for taking instructions, assembling the evidence, instructing experts, drafting the case and checking that every recoverable head of loss has been properly considered.

Practical materials for the lawyer and the client

The practical materials also include carefully revised questionnaires for bereaved clients, model pleadings, schedules of damages and guidance on obtaining witness and expert evidence. The client questionnaires have been designed to obtain the necessary information comprehensively while maintaining compassion and respect for the particularly difficult circumstances in which instructions are being given.

Separate client resources provide clear and accessible information about the inquest process and sources of advice and support.

The relevant statutory materials and extracts from the Eighth Edition of the Ogden Tables are reproduced for convenient reference.

Written by a barrister who specialises in fatal accident litigation and is recognised as one of the foremost commentators on civil procedure and damages, the fifth edition is an essential practical guide for everyone advising or representing families, dependants and estates following a death.