Unmarried Fathers Set to Become Eligible for Bereavement Damages: A Long-Overdue Reform

Justice Minister, Sarah Sackman KC has responded to an issue raised by Associated of Personal Injury Lawyers (“APIL”), which excluded unmarried fathers from the list of eligible relatives who could receive bereavement damages, marking a significant and welcome development in fatal accident claims.

What are Bereavement Damages?

Bereavement damages are an award, currently valued at £15,120, available under section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. Currently, the only people who can claim for damages for bereavement are:-

• Wife, husband or civil partner of the deceased; or
• The cohabiting partner of the deceased; or
• Where the deceased was a minor who was never married or a civil partner,
  • The parents, if he was legitimate; or
  • His mother if he was illegitimate

While the award cannot compensate for the profound emotional impact of losing a loved one, it serves as an acknowledgement of the loss experienced by those closest to the deceased, such as loss of love and affection.

The Current Position

Although eligibility for bereavement damages has been expanded in recent years, the law continues to exclude some individuals who have suffered the loss of a close family member, such as unmarried fathers.

Presently, where an illegitimate child dies as a result of negligence, only the child’s mother may be entitled to claim bereavement damages. Whereas, an unmarried father can be excluded from receiving the same award, even where they played an active and significant role in their child’s life.

This distinction has long been criticised for failing to reflect modern family structures and for creating an arbitrary difference based solely on the marital status of a child’s parents.

Government Commits to Change

According to APIL, the issue was recently raised with Justice Minister Sarah Sackman KC by APIL’s immediate past president, Matt Tuff. In response, the Minister acknowledged that there is “a specific area where the law no longer reflects modern expectations” and confirmed that the Government is committed to addressing eligibility for bereavement damages where parental entitlement currently depends on marital status. The proposed change does not have a set timetable and will be introduced ‘when parliamentary time allows’.

Why This Matters

Families come in many different forms, and the law should reflect that modern reality. The loss of a child is devastating regardless of whether the parents are married, cohabiting, separated or in any other family arrangement.

The current exclusion of unmarried fathers has been viewed by many as outdated and inconsistent with today’s society. The proposed reform recognises that the strength of a parent-child relationship should not be measured by a parent’s marital status.

A Step Towards Greater Fairness

The Government’s commitment is a positive step towards ensuring the law better reflects contemporary family life. It follows a number of previous reforms to bereavement damages, including the extension of eligibility to cohabiting partners in certain circumstances.

However, questions remain as to how quickly the changes will be implemented and whether wider reform of the bereavement damages regime will follow. Campaigners have long argued that the statutory award is too restrictive and that more family members should be eligible to claim.

For now, the announcement provides hope that an inequality affecting unmarried fathers will finally be addressed.