Fatal Accidents Ordinance

(1)
An action under this Ordinance may consist of or include a claim for damages for bereavement unless, by reason of the act, neglect or default referred to in
section 3
, any person has recovered, by action or otherwise, a sum in respect of loss of the deceased’s society under
section 20C(1)
of the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) Ordinance (
Cap. 23
).
(2)
A claim for damages for bereavement shall only be for the benefit of such of the following persons as survive the deceased for not less than 30
days—
(a)
the wife or husband of the deceased, unless they had been living apart for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the death of the deceased; or
(b)
where there is no spouse by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a), the children of the deceased; or
(c)
where there is no person by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a) or (b), the wife or husband of the deceased (notwithstanding that they had been living apart); or
(d)
where there is no person by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a), (b) or (c), any concubine taken by the deceased before 7 October 1971; or
(e)
where there is no person by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), any person
who—
(i)
was living with the deceased in the same household immediately before the date of his death; and
(ii)
had been living with the deceased in the same household for at least 2 years before that date,
as the husband or wife of the deceased; or
(f)
where there is no person by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), the parents of the deceased or (if the deceased was illegitimate) his mother; or
(g)
where there is no person by or for whom a claim can be made under paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f), but the deceased was at the date of his death a minor, any person who during any marriage to which that person was a party treated the deceased as a son or daughter of the family in relation to that marriage; or
(h)
where there is no other person by or for whom a claim can be made under this subsection, any brother or sister of the deceased.
(3)
Subject to subsection (4), the sum to be awarded as damages under this section
                shall be
                    $253,500.
(Amended
L.N.
                        205 of 1991
;
L.N. 144 of
                    1997
;
L.N. 143 of
                    2018
;
L.N. 134 of
                    2020
;
L.N. 79 of
                    2023
;
L.N. 80 of
                    2025
)
(4)
Where there is a claim for damages under this section for the benefit of 2 or more persons, the sum awarded shall be divided equally between them (subject to any deduction falling to be made in respect of costs not recovered from the defendant).
(5)
The Legislative Council may by resolution amend subsection (3) by varying the sum specified therein.
[cf. 1982 c. 53 s. 3 U.K.]