When a loved one is unlawfully killed in England and Wales due to an accident on the road or at work the law is unjust and outdated. One example is if a parent loses a child, the usual award will be a pitiful bereavement award and the return of ‘reasonable’ funeral expenses. The usual compensation award for a loss of a child is about £15,000. The old adage that ‘it is cheaper to kill’ is true here. The value of life, a child, is worthless. There are many other examples of the law getting in the way of justice. Motor vehicle insurance companies are happy for this unjust law to remain. We are not, the law needs to be modernised and updated as a matter of urgency. Scotland has a different laws that are much fairer to bereaved families. We need something similar to our barbaric laws.
The Law Commission – recommends Change
In the Law Commissions’ report, November 1999 made proposals to modernise the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and to increase the bereavement award to bring the legislation into line with the values of modern society. Further proposals were put forward to render the law fairer and more certain than it is at present. Unfortunately the recommendations have not been implemented causing unnecessary hardship and distress to bereaved families who have lost a loved one to due to a fatal accident in England & Wales.
Rapid change has hit the legal sector over recent years and traditional attitudes to the provision of legal services have been upended.
On the 2nd April 2018 an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Rules comes into force which changes the requirements of what expert witnesses must now include in their reports. This amendment is in relation to CrPR Part 19 (Expert evidence), in rule 19.4 (Content of expert’s report).
Thousands of commercial litigation cases are being brought every year in the less-than-£2m arena, with an equally large number never making it to court due to a lack of available finance. And many of these are genuine, potential lawsuits that deserve to be heard but unfortunately the clients involved simply do not have the capital or appetite for risk to see them through.
More than 200 health and legal professionals gathered in Nottingham to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of people who have overcome significant injury and to learn about cutting edge research and developments in the rehabilitation sector.