If analysis by
Reuters is anything to go by, then we might be looking at only £4 million in total compensation for victims of the historic Grenfell Tower fire.
Here’s the breakdown of
Reuters’ payout calculation:
- For dependency damages - £1.2 million
- For property - £1.4 million
- For bereavement - £1 million
- For other smaller claims - £0.4 million
Reuters said it based its calculation on the compensation amounts stipulated in the Fatal Accidents Act of 1976, individual circumstances of the victims, and precedents set in previous cases. It also cited personal injury lawyers who verified the publication’s methodology and found the payout estimate reasonable.
According to the report, victims will not be entitled to sue for compensation if it is found that there was no unlawful behaviour by any of the entities involved. In addition, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers president Brett Dixon said any compensation would not be as big as in similar incidents in the US, citing “less generous” damages and legislation that prohibit punitive claims.
As for bereavement awards in wrongful death cases, the amount is no more than £12,980 in England and Wales. When it comes to dependency damages, the report cited the 1976 law, under which claims can only be made by family members who were financially dependent on those who were killed. According to
Reuters, it identified only five deceased whose dependents would definitely qualify, noting that most of the fatalities were minors, elderly, or single.
For goods lost, on the other hand, the estimate is less than £30,000 per flat, with Rebecca Thomas, of law firm Duncan Lewis, saying compensation is based on market value instead of replacement value of personal belongings. Also, Grenfell Tower units had a maximum of only two bedrooms.
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