Fatal Accidents Act 1976 Does Not Apply in Foreign Law Cases - Sarah Crowther, 3 Hare Court
19/05/14. Cox v Ergo Versicherung [2014] 2 WLR 948; [2014] UKSC 22. In a judgment handed down on 2 April 2014, the Supreme Court has considered the application of the principles of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 to wrongful death claims where the substantive law is that of a country other than England.
Applying the principles established in Harding v Wealands [2007] 2 AC 1, namely that the foreign applicable law governs only the substantive issues in tort and that assessment of damage is a procedural question the Supreme Court unanimously held that a claimant before the English court cannot rely on the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, but must invoke the substantive remedy provided by the applicable foreign law.
The Facts
Mrs Cox is the widow of Major Cox, a British army officer killed whilst riding his bicycle on 21 May 2004 in Germany. The driver of the car which hit him was a German national resident and domiciled in Germany and he was insured by a German domiciled insurer (the Defendant to the claim) pursuant to an insurance contract governed by German law.
Mrs Cox returned to England following the death of her husband. She has a new partner with whom she has two children.
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