Case Studies:
£80,000 Awarded on Appeal
We acted for a widow whose husband was murdered in Belfast in 1971 by Loyalist paramilitaries. Her application for a Victims’ Payments Board pension was refused on the basis that she had not been present at the “immediate aftermath” of the incident within the meaning of Regulation 7(1) of the Victims’ Payments Regulations 2020.
Jack Dowling was instructed.
Our client had attended the mortuary within approximately 90 minutes of the murder and identified her husband in the same condition as at the time of death. On appeal, we challenged the narrow interpretation adopted by the initial panel and relied on VPB guidance, which recognises that the “immediate aftermath” may extend to witnessing a loved one shortly after the incident in an unchanged state.
The appeal was upheld, with the panel accepting that our client fell within the definition.
She was subsequently awarded a pension with a value of £80,000.
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