Our client tragically lost his wife in a motor vehicle accident. She was riding her bicycle along the side of the road when a utility vehicle struck her causing fatal injuries. She passed leaving him in the sole care of his two children.
Background
Our client’s wife was in her early 50s and was in good health prior to the accident. She worked part-time in financial services and was expected to continue working in that capacity until retirement age. Our client had a full-time job at the time of the accident and he and his wife also operated a cattle farming business outside of their daily jobs.
After the accident, our client went on long service leave and subsequently ceased working because of the psychiatric injuries he suffered following the death of his wife.
Our client approached our firm in order to act on his behalf as well as his two children. Under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897, if a person dies because of a motor vehicle accident, close relatives may be able to claim compensation if they were dependant on the deceased.
Compensation to relatives rights and entitlements include:
- Reimbursement of funeral expenses
- Compensation for the loss of financial support that the deceased would have provided to our client and his children
- Compensation for the loss of domestic services previously provided by the deceased to her dependants
- Reimbursement for hospital and other medical expenses
- loss of earnings
The Claim
Our legal team lodged an application to compensate relatives with the appropriate insurer. Thereafter, the CTP insurer accepted liability to make payments in relation to the rights and entitlements outlined above.
Our lawyers began the process of obtaining all the information required to determine the amount of compensation the family should claim. This included the file from the Coroner’s Court, along with financial records and statements from all relevant witnesses. We instructed our experts (including a Forensic Accountant and an Occupational Therapist) to provide legal reports assessing all the relevant evidence above.
In order to progress the matter, we lodged proceedings in the District Court of NSW. In the meantime, upon review of the reports and with the advice of counsel, we entered negotiations with the CTP insurer on our client’s behalf. An informal resolution conference was undertaken with the insurer, and we were successful in resolving our client’s compensation to relatives claim.
The family was understandably thankful to have resolved the matter without the need for a court hearing.