Fatal Accident Dependency: Chance of Reconciliation Gives Rise to 80% of Damages - Gordon Exall, Zenith Chambers
06/05/15. The judgment of HHH Judge Coe (sitting as a High Court judge) in Hayes -v- South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust [2015] EWHC 18 (QB) highlights an important aspect of fatal accident damages. A former wife and husband had separated and were divorcted at the time of the husband’s death. However reconciliation was on the horizon and dependency damages were awarded on the basis of a 80% chance of reconciliation.
THE CASE
The judge found that the defendant’s ambulance crew had been negligent in failing to treat the deceased properly. The judge also found that appropriate treatment would, on the balance of probabilities, had led to survival.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
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Mr and Mrs Hayes met in 1997 and married in 1998. They had three sons Harry, born 7th May 1999 and twins Nicholas and Anthony born 5th July 2001. In the early part of 2003 Mrs Hayes discovered that her husband had been having an affair and they separated. Her husband moved out of the house in about August or September 2003 and went to live with his mother and father. He subsequently bought his mother and father’s home and continued to live there. Mr and Mrs Hayes divorced in 2004. However, they remained amicable and on friendly terms and Mr Hayes remained very much involved in the lives of his sons...
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