A woman who lived with her boyfriend and had a son by him was unable to claim for 'loss of dependency' when he was killed in an accident at work.
Although the man's employer admitted responsibility for the accident that killed him, the court ruled that although the couple lived together as 'husband and wife' and enjoyed a stable family life, the facts that they were unmarried and had cohabited for fewer than two years meant that she was unable to demonstrate the necessary degree of dependency to create an entitlement.
Their son, who was born after the death of his father, was awarded £105,000 in compensation.
There is no such thing as 'common-law marriage'. If you live with someone without the protection that a marriage or civil partnership affords, contact us for advice on what you can do to safeguard your financial position in the event of a tragedy such as this.