Fatals claim barred by lifetime settlement – 1 QMLR
‘Ritchie v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2026] EWCC 50 concerned the effect of a lifetime settlement on a subsequent claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (‘FAA’) against a concurrent tortfeasor. HHJ Grimshaw granted summary judgment to the Defendant, holding that the Deceased’s earlier settlement with the manufacturer of a contaminated heater cooler unit (‘the Company’) had provided full satisfaction for the harm arising from his Mycobacterium Chimaera (‘MC’) infection. Applying Thompson v Arnold [2007] EWHC 1875 (QB) (‘Thompson’), and the principles concerning full satisfaction in Jameson & Anr v Central Electricity Generating Board [2001] 1 A.C. 455 and Heaton and Others v AXA Equity & Law Assurance Society PLC and Others [2002] 2 AC 329, the Judge concluded that the Deceased could not have maintained an action against the Defendant at the time of his death. The statutory condition in s1(1) FAA was therefore not satisfied, and the Claimant’s FAA claim could not succeed.’
1 QMLR, 6th October 2026
Source: 1corqmlr.com
