For over 30 years Boyes Turner’s personal injury lawyers have helped countless families through the emotional trauma, legal formalities and financial devastation that follow the death of a loved one. We support families whose lives have been catastrophically affected by fatal injuries caused by someone else’s fault, including road or workplace accidents, unsafe buildings or public facilities, asbestos exposure, and criminal violence, in the UK or abroad.
We understand that nothing can provide instant relief from the feelings of loss that follow a child, parent, or partner’s death, but we know that where the family relied on the deceased’s income, parenting or home-making, their grief is often compounded by worries about money and how they will cope. Compensation can bring relief from financial hardship at this difficult time. Financial stability gives our clients the means to pay for essential help, and peace of mind for the future, as they adjust to the changes in their family’s life.
For advice about compensation claims for fatal injury caused by medical negligence, you can visit our dedicated page.
Speak to our personal injury solicitors
We understand that sudden, fatal injury often happens in highly distressing, traumatic circumstances which can be difficult to talk about, but we encourage you to reach out for our help. Our compassionate personal injury team are experienced in helping clients who have experienced trauma or PTSD psychological injury after seeing their loved ones suffering or in the aftermath of fatal or life-threatening accidents. We discuss each claim confidentially, with sensitivity and understanding, and advise you how we can help.
It costs nothing to talk to us to find out about making a compensation claim after a fatal accident involving your partner or a member of your family. You can contact us by telephone or by email for free, confidential advice from a specialist personal injury solicitor. We will ask you to tell us briefly about the accident and the deceased’s circumstances and dependants. We will advise you about time limits and whether we can help you make a claim. Your solicitor will discuss with you how your claim will be funded and advise, fully and clearly, how that works and what it will mean for you. We offer a range of funding options, but most of our clients’ claims are handled on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.
We will put your claim to the defendant individual or organisation whose negligence caused the accident and we will handle all communication on your behalf. The defendant’s insurers will usually handle the claim on the defendant’s behalf and will be responsible for paying any compensation.
Partner, Personal Injury
When someone dies as a result of an accident or fatal injury that was caused by somebody else’s negligence, the deceased’s closest family, their dependants, and their estate (the legacy that passes to beneficiaries under their will) may be entitled to compensation.
Compensation claims arising from fatal injury are governed by The Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. Together, these two statutes give the beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate and the deceased’s dependants the right to claim for their losses in a fatal accident claim.
Fatal accident claims need specialist handling as they have their own legal requirements and additional complexities from other claims. They should be handled by specialist solicitors to ensure that family members, and those entitled under the deceased’s estate, receive their full entitlement to compensation. If any children are entitled to compensation, the court must approve any settlement, to ensure that the children’s interests are properly protected.
Our lawyers are nationally recognised for their expertise in representing bereaved families at coroners' inquests and guiding them through the claims process, to secure the highest levels of compensation that they are entitled to claim.
If someone suffers a fatal injury that was caused by somebody else’s negligence, the deceased’s closest family, their dependants, and their estate may be entitled to compensation.
In cases where more than one person is entitled to claim, such as where the deceased left a partner and dependent children, our specialist fatal injury solicitors will ensure that the correct person brings the proceedings and that each eligible claimant’s interests are included in the claim.
We recover compensation for the families of those who have suffered fatal injury:
We can also claim compensation arising from fatal accidents for:
Fatal injury claims usually involve claims for compensation for:
If the deceased left dependants, the claim will also include compensation for ‘loss of dependency’ (financial loss) suffered by those who depended on the deceased’s:
The deceased’s dependants are usually their children, husband, wife, partner, grandchildren or elderly relatives, but can include other people whom the deceased supported financially on a regular basis.
Depending on the circumstances of the accident, we also claim compensation for injured survivors from the same accident, such as passengers who were sharing the same vehicle, or ‘secondary victim’ family members who suffered PTSD from witnessing their loved one’s traumatic death.
The deceased had pulled over onto the hard shoulder to exchange details with another driver following a minor collision, when the HGV veered onto the hard shoulder, fatally injuring the two men. We pursued a compensation claim for the widow and their child.
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May 2026
The service from Boyes Turner has quite simply been outstanding, at the most stressful time in our lives they thoroughly looked after us from start to finish. From a warm coffee and listening ear during meetings, to efficiency and professionalism with the legal formalities. Claire our solicitor obviously had a wealth of legal experience of this kind but she also had a real insight and understanding of my injuries. She pushed hard to make sure I could access early on rehabilitation that was not available via the NHS, which enabled me to get back to looking after my kids (which was my number one priority). At the beginning my recovery felt bleak but knowing I had Claire and her team in my corner I started to believe I could get some quality of life back, and I really have. Now the case has concluded, I feel closure and satisfaction my case was dealt with by the best and can move forward with my life with no regrets. Thank you Claire and the Boyes Turner Team.
I almost lost my leg during an accident. Claire and her team came recommended from a friend. I cannot overstate the excellent management of the case from Claire. In my professional life I deal with the other side of this injury and in the medico-legal aspects and it was phenomenal to see how Claire and her team managed not only the legal side but stayed on top of the holistic side of my post injury care when no one else was. I have no doubt my outcome is far better than it would have been had I been left to the routine devices of the healthcare system. Following on from this her guidance and expertise in negotiating a settlement was outstanding.
Claire is exceptionally knowledgeable in the personal injury legal domain, especially in the specific area of my injury. From our very first conversation, she was clear in explaining the potential different routes that the process could take and provided me with expectations of what I could expect along the journey. She ensured that all bases were covered, organising meetings, discussions and necessary specialist appointments, in order to bring together the case and take it forward. Claire was then able to use her extensive pool of contacts, to appoint an "area leading" barrister, to represent me. Overall, I was very pleased with appointing Claire and Boyes Turner to act as my solicitor for the legal claim that I pursued. Thank you for all of your support.
Almost 5 years ago my son suffered a life changing brain injury accident. A new life for everyone, so many unknowns so many difficult decisions. I met Claire and the team shortly after the accident. So many questions answered but more than that, amazing lovely people. Claire has been guiding me and the family throughout this ordeal with such compassion, there every time I needed her we couldn’t of asked for a nicer person. I have met many others within Boyes Turner and all have been genuine lovely people, I’m now working with Ruth and Lindsay from the court of protection. Again, I can't say enough about them amazing lovely people. They truly do want the best for my son and they did and continue to do so.
I approached Claire Roantree of Boyes Turner in regards to making a claim about a workplace burns injury. It was something that had scarred me physically and mentally and taken a huge toll on the lives of me and my family. Claire wasted no time in finding out what happened and made sure I was treated by known experts and quickly finding an answer to my burns scarring and how I could be treated to help manage my pain. Claire also helped me by appointing a psychiatrist to understand my situation and help me cope with post traumatic stress disorder. As well as taking as much stress of the claim away, she was thorough in every situation, making sure I had the best possible claim, and handled it all expertly, I am so very grateful to her and her team. They have helped guide my life back into a positive direction and I can't thank her enough!
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