Legal News

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is calling for a change in the law to assist relatives of victims of the Hillsborough Disaster in making compensation claims.

APIL is claiming that currently the law is “harsh and outdated” – and is blocking compensation claims by the loved ones of those who died as a result of negligence at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield in 1989.

Some relatives of those who died at Hillsborough were watching the football match on television and saw their friends and relatives trapped in the crowd as the disaster unfolded.

In many cases, they suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of witnessing the injuries – and in some cases, the deaths – of friends and relatives captured by TV cameras at the stadium.

Judges have previously ruled that there is no duty of care to those who saw loved ones caught up in the tragedy on television.

However, on Wednesday (05/03/14), the president of APIL, Matthew Stockwell, told MPs at the House of Commons that – as a result of the current law – some potential claimants had been subjected to “unfair and unrealistic demands” to prove they were suffering.

“In almost every case, people have to prove they had a close tie of love and affection with the person who was killed or injured – which is extremely intrusive, especially when someone is distressed or grieving,” Mr Stockwell said.

“They are also expected to be physically nearby when the death or injury happens before they can be judged to have suffered psychiatric harm, when it’s perfectly obvious that you don’t need to actually see someone you love killed to be deeply affected by it.

“Brothers, sisters – and unmarried partners – for example, have to prove their relationship, which could involve jumping through a lot of high hoops at a difficult time.

“These people are not just a bit upset – and they can’t claim if their loved one was killed in a genuine accident. But if the death or injury happened because of negligence – and real psychiatric harm is suffered as a result – then the person who suffers that harm should be able to claim compensation without jumping through unrealistic legal hoops,” he added.

APIL says that the current law – which is based on a claim against the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police in 1992 – is “archaic and inflexible”.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of personal injury solicitors and can advise on making no win no fee compensation claims for

• Accidents in Public Places
• Brain Injury
• Brain & Spinal Injury
• Criminal Injuries
• Concussion
• Crush Injuries
• Fatal Injuries
• Fractured and Broken Bones
• Head Injury
• Public Liability Claims
• Spinal Injury.

Duncan Lewis is also a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors – and can advise on funding any case involving claiming compensation for personal injury, including no win no fee claims.

For expert legal advice on personal injury claims, contact Duncan Lewis solicitors on 020 7923 4020.