The High Court has ruled that court approval is generally not required for an agreed fatal injury settlement where all statutory dependants are adults with legal capacity. The decision concerned a settlement following a fatal road crash and was limited to the circumstances before the court.
The case followed the death of Jacqueline Wolohan in a collision on the M4 near Kinnegad on 13 February 2016. Her daughter Alison Wolohan brought proceedings on behalf of the statutory dependants. The defendant had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. The judgment notes that the deceased’s two younger children had been passengers and were injured; their personal injury claims were being dealt with separately.
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board assessed the fatal injury claim at €216,585.50. Alison rejected that assessment on behalf of the dependants. The defendant’s insurer, Allianz, later offered €241,240, and the dependants agreed how to divide the settlement. Proceedings were brought in November 2019, after the youngest child, Andrew, had turned 18.
The court considered whether it had to assess the adequacy of the settlement and apportion all damages, despite the dependants’ agreement. Justice Garrett Simons concluded that adults with legal capacity could agree to settle their individual claims without court approval. He said the court’s principal concern in such a case was to establish that every statutory dependant had capacity, notice of the proceedings and had consented in writing to the settlement and its division.
The judge distinguished settlements from acceptance of a PIAB assessment: under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003, court approval is required before an assessment can be accepted in a fatal injury claim. He said the judgment was confined to cases where all dependants were adults and not under a legal disability. Court approval remains necessary for a settlement involving a minor dependant.
Although the judge held that approval of the settlement was not strictly necessary, he addressed the application brought by Alison. He approved dividing the €35,000 solatium equally among the deceased’s father and three children, at €8,750 each. The agreed shares of the remaining damages were €95,685.50 for Andrew, €56,154.50 for Alison, €20,000 for Sarah and €34,400 for John. The court did not assess the merits of those agreed shares. Funeral expenses of €5,345.50 had already been paid by the insurer.
The court directed that no order be drawn up until Alison filed a supplemental affidavit identifying all six statutory dependants and confirming that the deceased’s two siblings consented to the settlement and division and waived any claim. The proposed order also provides for the defendant to pay the costs of the application, with costs to be adjudicated if the parties cannot agree.