Lawford Kidd's Blog

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has begun hearing evidence on the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Bill.

One of the key people to give evidence before the Committee is Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, who led the 2009 Review of Fatal Accident Inquiry legislation. The Committee also heard from Julie Love from ‘Death Abroad – You’re Not Alone’, Louise Taggart from ‘Families Against Corporate Killers’ and, Jimmy Jones, a retired RAF flight lieutenant who is now a campaigner.

The Bill’s main objective is to reform and modernise the law governing the holding of fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) in Scotland, and to implement the recommendations made in Lord Cullen’s 2009 Review.

Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAI) are taking too long and prolonging pain and upset for bereaved families, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has said, as a Scottish Government consultation on improving the inquiries process comes to a close.

“The real problems lie with the huge delays before the matter gets as far as an inquiry,” explained Gordon Dalyell, Scotland representative of APIL.

“It can sometimes take years for a fatal accident inquiry to get underway because of delays in investigations by the Health and Safety Executive and the Crown Office in deciding whether one is necessary,” he added.

The Faculty of Advocates has published details of its response to the consultation over the Inquiries into Deaths (Scotland) Bill, which has been proposed by MSP Patricia Ferguson to make reforms to the current system of fatal accident inquiries (FAIs).

In its response, the Faculty acknowledged that there was room for improvement in the current system, but warned that the proposed legislation could have a number of “unintended and unwelcome” consequences.

The Faculty said it did not support the proposal to extend the requirement for an FAI for a work-related death to include deaths caused by industrial disease. In its response it said: