When someone dies as a result of negligence dependents may have a claim under the Fatal Accidents Act. Those that can be classed as a dependent is tightly defined under the Act.
Harry’s father, Jim, died suddenly of a heart attack in the May. The GP admitted negligence. She had failed to refer Jim to hospital in the previous November when he consulted her complaining of severe chest pains. The expert Cardiologist agreed Jim had sustained a heart attack in November and the hospital would have been able to perform tests and provide treatment which would have reduced the risk of a further attack.
For Harry to succeed it had to be shown that on the balance of probabilities treatment and intervention in the November would have prevented Jim’s fatal heart attack. The experts were divided; one said that even with referral in November it was still probable that Jim would have died in the May, the other said that with the combination of advice and therapies it was more likely that Jim would have survived. The matter was compromised and compensation was paid. Under the Act Harry, aged 9, was the only dependent. His mother had lived with Jim for many years but they were not married and when Jim died they remained on good terms but were living apart. She was not classed as a dependent. The compensation means that Harry does get some of the financial security which his father would have provided for him.
