Mother recovers for loss of dependency after son killed in motorcycle collision

Our client lived with her adult son and daughter. The property was mortgaged in the joint names of our client and her daughter. Her son contributed to the household by paying rent and doing his fair share of the chores.

While riding his motorcycle, our client’s son was involved in a collision when a car pulled out from a junction across his path. The collision was fatal.

His death left the family dealing with profound loss. It also had serious practical and financial consequences because his contribution formed part of their plans for the family home.

Before the collision, the family had planned for our client’s daughter eventually to move abroad. Her son would then replace his sister on the mortgage and make a larger contribution towards the upkeep of the property.

In time, the intention was for him to buy our client out of the mortgage too. This would allow our client to move abroad while keeping the property as a UK base for the family when they visited.

Following her son’s death, our client lost his rental contribution. She and her daughter could no longer afford the mortgage payments without it. Her daughter was also unable to come off the mortgage and continue with her plan to move abroad.

Our lawyers pursued a claim on behalf of the son’s estate under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, alongside our client’s claim for loss of dependency under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.

The loss of dependency claim involved unusual circumstances. At the time of his death, our client’s son was paying rent but had not yet been added to the mortgage. The defendant argued that the claim was speculative and should not succeed.

Our experts therefore needed to demonstrate that the family’s plans were genuine and that our client could reasonably have expected to depend on her son’s financial contribution.

Witness statements were obtained from our client, her daughter and her son’s girlfriend. Their evidence addressed the family’s plans for the son to replace his sister on the mortgage and, eventually, his mother.

Bank statements were also obtained to show the son’s contributions towards rent and household running costs. Our client’s and her daughter’s payments were examined too, helping to demonstrate the importance of his contribution to keeping the family home.

Our lawyers also gathered evidence of the son’s earnings from his employer and HMRC. This was used to consider whether his projected income would have enabled him to take over his sister’s share of the mortgage and meet the associated running costs.

Importantly, before the collision, the brother and sister had already been gathering evidence to give to the mortgage provider. Their intention was to demonstrate that the son could replace his sister on the mortgage. This provided further evidence that the family had been taking steps to put their plans into effect.

The claim was presented to the insurer for settlement, but it declined to engage. Our lawyers therefore issued proceedings in the High Court in London so the case could progress towards trial.

As the case progressed, the defendant was invited to attend a Joint Settlement Meeting. Although it initially agreed, it cancelled two days before the meeting.

Matthew Claxson and the team responded firmly. The defendant was reminded of the requirement for parties to explore alternative dispute resolution before trial and informed that its conduct would be brought to the court’s attention.

Following the steps taken by the legal team, the defendant engaged in an exchange of written settlement offers. This resulted in our client achieving an excellent financial settlement.

The practical importance of the outcome went beyond the settlement itself. Matthew Claxson explained that the conclusion of the claim recovered sufficient funds for the family to keep their home.

For our client, the claim could not undo the loss of her son. It did, however, address the financial dependency that had been lost following his death and provide the funds needed for the family to retain their home.