By Jo Jeffries. Last Updated 23rd November 2022. Welcome to this guide to manslaughter compensation. In it, we explain how compensation for manslaughter could be calculated, including examples of vehicular manslaughter in the UK, as well as making an involuntary manslaughter claim against someone’s former employer. We also look at whether you could claim compensation for criminal injury, or whether you could make a claim in a different manner. Plus, we look at the difference between criminal injuries compensation and compensation settlements in claims against insurance companies and individuals. We also explain further about making a claim for involuntary manslaughter in the UK, as well as the time limits for manslaughter by gross negligence claims.
If you have recently lost a loved one then this must be a very difficult time for you. If you know or believe that your loved ones death was as a result of manslaughter caused by some other persons or third parties negligence and thus was completely avoidable it would only serve to make your families anguish even worse. You ought to be aware of, and to consider, your right to make an involuntary manslaughter claim for the loss of your loved one.
Getting Help With Claiming Manslaughter Compensation
As the family member of someone who has been killed by the negligent or unlawful actions of another person you could be entitled to manslaughter compensation. You can seek out this compensation through our expert personal injury solicitors. Our personal injury solicitors have been helping victims get compensation for up to thirty years so you can be confident that you will be receiving some of the best legal services on offer. These services will not leave you out of pocket thanks to the no win no fee agreements that our solicitors offer to all of our clients. In this guide you will learn about how manslaughter compensation claims work and how you can work with our solicitors to make them.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Manslaughter Compensation Claims
- What Is Manslaughter – UK Definition
- What Is Gross Negligence Manslaughter?
- How Does Compensation For Manslaughter Differ From Murder?
- Statistics Highlighting Criminal Negligence
- Common Forms Of Manslaughter Criminal Negligence
- Who Could Be Eligible To Make A Manslaughter Compensation Claim?
- What Should I Do If A Relative Is The Victim Of Manslaughter?
- Manslaughter Compensation Claims Calculator
- Special Damages Awarded In Victim Compensation Claims
- No Win No Fee Manslaughter Compensation Claims
- How Our Fatal Accident Claims Team Could Help You Claim Compensation For Manslaughter
- Start Your Manslaughter Compensation Claim
- Essential References Relating To Compensation For Manslaughter
A Guide To Manslaughter Compensation Claims
This guide has been written to explain to people who have lost loved ones to manslaughter, whether for vehicular manslaughter in the UK, or other forms, how they can make a legal claim to receive compensation for the death of their loved one. Here you will find what you need to know what manslaughter is, how it differs from murder, and what different types of manslaughter there are. You will also learn what kind of compensation you can claim for the death of your loved one and how much.
Some people may find themselves in a conundrum over starting a claim. on the one hand they may feel they ought to be entitled to compensation, but on the other they may be afraid of having to pay legal bills they can’t afford. We hope to assuage those fears by explaining our No Win No Fee offers which can enable you to avoid ending up out of pocket regardless of the outcome of your case.
What Is Manslaughter – UK Definition
You may be wondering, ‘what is manslaughter?’ In the UK, as defined by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), manslaughter is when an unlawful killing is done but without the purpose to cause grievous bodily harm or kill.
This may be committed in the following ways:
- Killing with intent to murder but a partial defence applies such as diminished responsibility, loss of control or a suicide pact
- An unlawful act that involved danger of some harm, resulting in death
- Conduct that was grossly negligent with risk of death
Manslaughter cases in the UK which are deemed to be caused by gross negligence are referred to the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.
For more information on claiming for a voluntary or involuntary manslaughter in the UK, get in touch with us at any time using the details on this page.
Making An Involuntary Manslaughter Claim For Vehicular Manslaughter In The UK, or Other Involuntary Manslaughter Cases
Cases in which the person responsible for the death did not intend to kill or harm the victim are known as involuntary manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter results when someone is responsible for a person’s death through their negligence, for example if they took risks which they knew would put the victim’s life in danger. If the behaviour which led to the victims death was unlawful the case would be known as “unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter”. Involuntary vehicular manslaughter could involve someone being negligent on the road leading to someone’s death. Involuntary manslaughter would also cover cases in which the killer intended to harm but not kill the victim, for example if they assaulted or punched the victim and unintentionally killed them.
What Is Gross Negligence Manslaughter?
Gross negligence manslaughter refers to cases of manslaughter where the actions of the responsible party leading up to and causing the victims death were not technically unlawful. A death cannot be ruled as being gross negligence manslaughter unless the person or party responsible for the victim’s death had a duty of care to the victim. If a person or party had a duty of care to the deceased individual, and breached this duty of care by their actions or failure to take certain actions and the persons subsequent death is found to have been caused as a result of this breach, then the case will be classed as gross negligence manslaughter.
Note that the breach of the duty of care does not have to be the only cause of the person’s death; a defendant can still be classed as being responsible for gross negligence manslaughter even if there are other factors at play in the victim’s death.
Examples of duty of care
Some examples of cases in which a person or body could have a duty of care can include
- Hospitals, doctors and other medical professionals with patients in their care.
- Employers and their employees
- Prisons and prison staff with individuals in their custody.
If a person dies following medical treatment then the doctors and hospital staff could be found to have committed gross negligence manslaughter if they caused the death by failing to follow correct procedure or perform their jobs to a reasonably acceptable standard. Or, to give another example, an employer could be found responsible for the death of an employee in a workplace accident through gross negligence manslaughter if they have failed to take certain steps to ensure workplace safety, thus breaching their duty of care to their employees.
You can read about how the law regarding gross negligence manslaughter operates in more detail here. If you would like more information about how you could claim for a death caused by medical negligence or for a workplace accident caused by employers negligence then please follow the links provided.
How Does Compensation For Manslaughter Differ From Murder?
Manslaughter is different to murder in that those who have committed murder either did not carry out their actions with the intent to kill their victim or else did so while not fully in control of their actions. A murder is committed when a person who is legally declared “sane” commits a pre-meditated killing with the deliberate intention of taking their victims life.
So for example a person who shows pre-thought and pre planning before committing an act which they knew would kill their victim, i.e. purchasing a firearm and shooting their victim, would have committed murder. However a person who struck a pedestrian while driving under the influence would have committed manslaughter. People can be charged with manslaughter instead of murder in so called “one punch death” cases where the victim has died from a single blow (for example if they were floored by the blow and suffered a fatal head injury when they hit the ground.) In cases such as these the perpetrator can be charged with manslaughter because they did not have any intent to kill. If you need to make a compensation claim for murder rather than manslaughter then you can find a guide on murder victims compensation here.
Statistics Highlighting Criminal Negligence
Deaths caused by manslaughter are classed as homicides, meaning that in government figures they are a part of the total of the number of murders. This means that it is not possible to say with certainty how many people were killed through manslaughter in the UK in any given year. To add further confusion cases are added to the statistics for the year in which the cause of death was classified rather than the year in which they occurred. So for example 96 negligent manslaughter cases were counted among the homicides for the year ending in March 2017 because that was the year in which the deaths at the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 were classed as such.
You can find the government’s records for the number of homicides in the year ending in March 2018 here. There were 726 homicides in 2017/18. The numbers of homicides in the UK show an alarming trend, they currently stand at their highest number since 2008, increasing rapidly after a long period of steady decline. Even with historical offenses and manslaughter cases being added to the statistics it still paints a worrying picture.
Common Forms Of Manslaughter Criminal Negligence
One common form of manslaughter criminal negligence is negligent endangerment of a child. Negligent endangerment of a child is when a child’s death is caused by the failure of its parents or guardians to ensure its safety and well being. This can be caused by failing to take the child to receive medical attention when they should reasonably have done so, or by failing to provide adequate food or shelter for the child. Parents or guardians can be found to be responsible for negligent endangerment of a child if they have placed the child in the care of an individual (or group of individuals) who they know to be causing harm to the child.
Another common form of manslaughter criminal negligence is criminally negligent homicide. In cases like these the victims death was caused by the responsible party breaking the law in such a manner which they knew would put the victims health and safety in danger. For example if an employer has knowingly violated health and safety laws.
Who Could Be Eligible To Make A Manslaughter Compensation Claim?
There are numerous people in a deceased person’s life that can have the right to claim compensation on varying different conditions depending on their exact relation to the victim.
- Children: You can claim for compensation if you have lost a parent to manslaughter and receive a bereavement award. Note that “children” in this case does not necessarily refer to someone under the age of 18, anyone who has lost a parent can claim compensation. Children who were under the age of 18 when their parent was killed can receive additional payments to cover education costs and general welfare.
- Spouses: You can receive a bereavement award for the loss of your spouse as well as making a financial dependency claim for financial losses if you were supported by their income. Divorced former spouses are not eligible for a bereavement claim but a dependency claim can be made if you were financial dependent on your former spouse.
- Immediate relatives: Any immediate family members who are not estranged from the deceased can claim for a bereavement award.
Can I Make An Involuntary Manslaughter Claim If I Was Responsible?
Family members of the deceased cannot claim for compensation for the death if they are found to have been the ones responsible for the death, or they may receive the compensation but at a reduced rate if they are found to have contributed to the person’s death. People with criminal records can sometimes face restrictions on their ability to claim compensation for criminal injuries.
What Should I Do If A Relative Is The Victim Of Manslaughter?
The key to making a compensation claim is the evidence to support your case and prove that your loved ones death was caused by manslaughter. We understand that the unexpected death of a loved one will have come as a terrible shock and that preparing for a compensation claim may not have been the first thing on your mind in the period immediately following their death, however if at all possible you should take steps to start gathering evidence.
Collect and retain all documents or photographs which might have any connection to the events leading up to the incident which caused the death of your loved one. If you witnessed or were present at the time of the incident then make a note of everything you can recollect. Gather the contact details of people who witnessed the incident and are willing to give a statement. If, for example, the incident occurred at your loved ones place of work you could ask to see their workplaces accident book where the details of the incident should have been noted accurately.
Claims For Vehicular Manslaughter In The UK
While we cannot tell you how many road traffic accident fatalities occurred due to vehicular manslaughter in the UK, we can provide you with some statistics relating to road traffic fatalities in Great Britain. Even though in 4 months of 2020, there were travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still a number of road traffic fatalities during 2020. The DfT figures showed that there were provisionally 1,390 deaths during this time. You can see how this compares to other years below.
If you were to seek compensation for a death in a road accident due to vehicular manslaughter in the UK you would need to make a note of the registration number of the driver who caused the accident and if possible get the contact details of the driver. If you haven’t done any of this already or if you aren’t sure about how to go about collecting evidence to claim vehicular manslaughter, or manslaughter due to grossnegligence then don’t worry, your solicitor can take the lead in the evidence gathering process. You can always ring our team if you have any questions and they will be happy to offer you advice and support.
Manslaughter Compensation Claims Calculator
In ordinary personal injury claims cases or criminal injury cases compensation would be awarded for the injuries that the victim suffered, based on their severity, the length of the recovery period, any disabilities or disfigurements etc. However in cases where the victim has died and the claim is being made by a family member on their behalf the compensation will be awarded for the degree of pain and suffering which your loved one experienced before they died.
This compensation will be calculated according to certain guidelines, the greater the degree of physical pain and anguish which was inflicted by the injuries they suffered the higher the compensation sum will be. We cannot give you the figure that your case would be worth here, nor any number of any accuracy without you first having discussed your situation with our solicitors. However we can show you this table which can give you an idea of some of the sums involved in manslaughter cases.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation |
| Total Compensation Amounts For Connected Claims | If losing a family member their can be multiple claims for example future loss of earnings. | Multiple Claims Can Be as high as £1 Million + depending of things like salary. |
| PTSD (a) | In which the victim suffers permanent effects of PTSD preventing them from living life normally despite treatment, | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| PTSD (b) | In which the victim is able to experience a degree of recovery with professional help but will still suffer from significant disability. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| PTSD (c) | In which the victim recovers to the point where any lasting symptoms will not cause a significant disability. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| PTSD (d) | In which the victim makes a full recovery between two months and a year with any lasting symptoms causing no significant disability. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
| (A) Full awareness | When the victim suffers severe burns and lung damage and remains awake and in pain for more than three hours, followed by varying levels of consciousness an death within a period of a few weeks or a few months, Coupled with invasive surgery and serious orthopedic injuries. | £12,540 to £23,810 |
| (B) Followed by unconsciousness | Severe burns and lung damage causing terrible pain, followed by unconsciousness within three hours and death within two weeks. | £10,510 to £10,670 |
| (C) Immediate unconsciousness followed by death after six weeks | When the victim is rendered unconscious immediately by the injury and dies more than six weeks later. | £3,760 to £4,390 |
| (D) Immediate unconsciousness followed by death within one week | When the victim is rendered unconscious by the injury immediately after it is inflicted and dies less than a week later. | £1,370 to £2,790 |
| (E) Mental anguish | The fear of coming death or of shortened lifespan experienced by the victim | £4,670 |
In addition to the figure awarded for your loved ones suffering you and other close family members can be awarded compensation for the loss of companionship caused by the death of your loved one, this is known as a bereavement award. If you were dependant on your deceased family member for physical care .i.e. you relied upon them for feeding you, washing and using the toilet , moving around, getting dressed and other basic needs because you are disabled then you can also be eligible to claim for a dependency award.
Criminal Injuries Compensation – What’s The Difference In Compensation If I Claim Compensation For Criminal Injury?
Please note, the amounts in the above section related to claims made against perpetrators, their employers, or other liable parties. When it comes to claiming criminal injuries compensation through the CICA, you would be compensated in accordance with the tariff of injuries outlined in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
If you are making a claim for compensation for criminal injury, the amount you would get would depend. However, payments could include funeral expenses, child payments, bereavement awards, and payments for dependents, depending on the case.
Below, we have put together a table with figures from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority tariff of injuries.
| Award (CICA) | Amount as per tariff | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum awards for fatal criminal injury | £500,000 | Before deductions |
| Funeral Payments | £2,500 | – |
| Funeral Payments (Further costs reasonably incurred) | A further £2,500 | – |
| Child’s Payment | £2,000 per year or pro rata | For every year from the death to their 18th birthday. |
| Dependent Payment | Please call for advice | – |
| Bereavement (if more than one eligible claimant) | £5,500 | – |
| Bereavement ( ifone eligible party) | £11,000 | – |
If you are unsure as to whether you could claim compensation for criminal injury, please contact us. We will do our utmost to answer any questions you may have. We may need to ask you some questions to ascertain the best way to proceed. Once we have all the information we need, we will offer you case-specific guidance. We could even provide you with a solicitor to assist you. Our solicitors could help you claim compensation for the criminal injury that has led to the loss of a loved one. We could also assist with claims against other liable parties.
Special Damages Awarded In Victim Compensation Claims
Don’t feel guilty for thinking about money and the impact that your bereavement has had on your financial situation. If you have lost a loved one due to the negligent actions of a third party then you have the right to receive compensation for the financial losses you and your family has suffered as a result. You can be awarded compensation for money you spent, such as funeral expenses.
If the loved one who died was the primary earner in your family or relationship then you can claim for the loss of income caused by their passing. If the involuntary manslaughter claim goes through the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority then you would be paid the equivalent of your loved ones sick pay rate up until the date at which they would have reached the age of retirement.
No Win No Fee Manslaughter Compensation Claims
If you have lost a loved one, whether it was due to involuntary vehicular manslaughter in the UK or from a criminal injury relating to an assault, you may be worried about the cost of a lawyer when making a claim for compensation. Some people fear that the cost of using a personal injury solicitor would far outweigh the compensation they would receive for their claim. At Accident Claims UK, we have put together a No Win No Fee service which means you would not have to pay any money up front to begin your claim. You would not pay any success fee to your lawyer until such time as a compensation settlement was achieved. Even then, the percentage of your compensation payout that would go to your lawyer is small, and legally capped.
To make a claim on No Win No Fee service, you would need to read and sign a Conditional Fee Agreement. This agreement document dictates the success fees that lawyers would receive at the end of successful cases. Should a claim not be successful, you would not have to pay your lawyer any success fees. Nor would you have to cover their costs.
Have Questions About Making A No Win No Fee Involuntary Manslaughter Claim
If you would like to speak to us in further detail about how such claims work, we would be happy to talk to you. We could answer your questions and help you get started with a No Win No Fee claim.
How Our Fatal Accident Claims Team Could Help You Claim Compensation For Manslaughter
We know that you have many options when it comes to choosing a personal injury lawyer firm. We would like to point out the benefits of working with ours. Our legal team has been helping clients win compensation for up to thirty years. You can receive their help in claiming compensation and the expert advice they can offer without having to pay out of pocket for it. All our claims are No Win No Fee and our advice is free and doesn’t require an agreement to make a claim through us.
Start Your Manslaughter Compensation Claim
We hope this guide on claiming compensation following manslaughter has helped. However, if you would like further guidance on claiming for involuntary manslaughter in the UK, or manslaughter by gross negligence, please get in touch with our team.
An advisor can discuss whether you’re eligible to make a claim on behalf of a loved one. They can also assess whether one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could represent the claim. Our solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). They also have experience handling these types of claims and can ensure a complete claim is put forward.
To learn more, you can use the following details:
- Telephone: 0800 073 8801
- Form: Fill out our contact form
- Live chat: Speak with an advisor via the live chat feature below
Essential References Relating To Compensation For Manslaughter
The Criminal Injury Compensation Authority- Responsible for handling criminal injury claims.
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/criminal-injuries-compensation-authority
NHS Resolution-responsible for handling NHS medical negligence claims
Final Words On Vehicular Manslaughter In The UK, and Other Manslaughter Claims
We hope you have enjoyed this guide to manslaughter compensation. Now we have explained how compensation for manslaughter could be calculated, including examples of manslaughter due to gross negligence, you may be able to begin making an involuntary manslaughter claim.
