We are currently in the middle of a negligence claim, what happens if one of us dies?

[goldpartyhat]

Concerning DS. There are statements from various family members, signed and lodged with the solicitors.

If one of us dies in this pandemic, will our statements still bear witness in the legal proceedings?

I believe the judge would need to rule on it if it proceeded to court because normally in contentious matters the other side has the right to question those witnesses.

That makes sense. I understand the defence needs to question the witnesses and that would make the testimony stronger. All we can do is have our statements in and hope for the best. The defence would love us all to die and just go away!

Certainly in criminal cases statements from people who have died or were in hopeless expectation of death are admissible. I would be surprised if civil law didn't allow

Thank you @MarieG10 At this particular time it's a horrendous anxiety to us that DS won't be cared for adequately if one of us dies. We just want to secure his future.

Yes the signed witness statements could be used in a negligence claim after your death. It would not carry the same weight as if the witness were alive and therefore available for oral examination, but as the next best thing, they would be useful and carry value as evidence.

@goldpartyhat if a witness dies, but there is a signed statement then the solicitors will seek to rely on it by way of a Civil Evidence Act notice. As others have said when a witness can not be cross-examined in a civil hearing then this goes to the “weight” of the evidence, but doesn’t make it inadmissable.

@goldpartyhat what stage of the litigation are you at? Has liability been admitted?

@Strawberry. Claim has been submitted and we are waiting for a response. Due September but I expect they will want another extension because of Covid. Waiting 2 yrs 4 months for a response and now this ☹️ We are shielding DS, so no normality and a lot of additional worries.

Is it the letter of response you are waiting for? Or the defence?