Department of Justice invites affected parties to claim additional sum for statutory bereavement damages
Date published:
The Department of Justice has identified an error in the sum payable for bereavement damages dating back to 2022.
The error impacted people affected by bereavement between November 2022 and November 2025, when the sum prescribed for statutory bereavement damages was £200 less than it should have been.
Bereavement damages are payable to specified relatives of a person who died due to the negligence of another party.
The Department of Justice is rectifying the error by offering affected claimants an additional payment of £200.
It is anticipated that the number of payments of bereavement damages to date is likely to be relatively low, given the length of time it usually takes to resolve a claim.
Anyone who has received statutory bereavement damages, made a claim for them, or intends to make a claim for them, where the cause of action (usually the date of the death) occurred between 1 November 2022 and 30 November 2025, should contact their solicitor, who will be able to advise if they are entitled to the additional £200 payment.
Claimants should complete the online form available on the Department of Justice website and send it to their solicitor for verification and onward submission to the Department.
The Department is grateful to the Law Society of Northern Ireland for its assistance in this matter.
Notes to editors:
- Under the Fatal Accidents (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, where a death has been caused by the negligence of another party, there is a statutory right for the deceased person’s dependants to claim damages and, in addition, specified relatives of the deceased may claim a fixed sum for damages for bereavement. That sum is prescribed by the Department of Justice and uplifted every three years in line with inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI).
- The uplift in 2022 was mistakenly made in line with CPIH (CPI including housing costs) instead of CPI. A sum of £17,200 was prescribed. The sum should have been £17,400. This mistake only came to light after a further inflationary uplift to the sum at the end of last year.
- The Department of Justice is rectifying this error by offering an ex gratia payment of £200 to affected claimants.
- The most recent uplift, in 2025, was made correctly.
- A pro forma for claiming the additional payment of £200 is available at the publication section of this website.
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