​What happens if someone is killed in an accident…

The law isn’t always compassionate, and it isn’t always virtuous.

For example, if you witness an accident, or see someone who needs help, the law says you don’t have to do anything to help.  But you should. 

Another example is if a loved one is killed in an accident.  At common law, “the death of a human being could not be complained of as an injury.”  This goes back at least as far as Baker v Bolton, when a man’s wife was killed in a stagecoach accident south of London.  The courts were so harsh that, in 1846, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Fatal Accidents Act which required some compensation to be given to husbands, parents, or children of those who had been killed through some wrongful act.

Alberta has followed suit and has its own Fatal Accidents Act.  Under the Act, the spouse, adult interdependent partner, parent, child, brother or sister of the deceased are entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering the death has caused them.  It’s non-negotiable, and pays out as follows:

1. $82,000.00 to the spouse or adult interdependent partner of the deceased;
2. $82,000.00 to the parent or parents of the deceased person divided equally if the action is brought to benefit both parents; and
3. $49,000.00 to each child of the deceased person.

​There are expenses that can be claimed as well.  Reasonable claims can be made for:

1. expenses incurred for the care and well‑being of the deceased person between time of injury and death;
2. travel and accommodation expenses incurred in visiting the deceased between time of the injury and death;
3. expenses of the funeral and the disposal of the body of the deceased, including all things supplied and services rendered in connection with the funeral and disposal;
4. fees paid for grief counselling that was provided for the benefit of the spouse, adult interdependent partner, parent, child, brother or sister of the person deceased.

The compensation under the Act certainly isn’t enough to compensate for the wrongful loss of a loved one, but at least it is better than what the common law provides.

In some circumstances, additional amounts can be claimed, including under the Survival of Actions Act.  For example, if the person that died was the sole bread-winner for dependant children, then those children could be entitled to additional compensation for loss of financial support.  Likewise, if the person that died was a full-time homemaker for dependent children, then those children would be entitled to loss of housekeeping and loss of child care compensation.

So if one of your loved ones has been killed, how do you get this compensation?  Unfortunately, it isn’t very straightforward.  You'll need to commence a legal action.  Your best bet is to retain a lawyer,