ST. JOHN'S, Antigua — The Senate has passed the Fatal Accidents Bill 2026 after government senators used their majority to defeat a series of opposition amendments, according to Antigua News Room. The legislation, approved on Monday, is designed to modernize the legal framework governing compensation claims when a person dies as a result of another party's wrongful conduct.
The bill repeals Antigua and Barbuda's 1924 Fatal Accidents Act and establishes a new legal framework allowing eligible dependents to recover damages for financial losses arising from a wrongful death. It introduces a statutory bereavement award of up to $20,000, broadens the categories of persons who may qualify as dependents, removes the requirement that bereavement awards be divided equally among beneficiaries, and clarifies that compensation cannot be reduced because a family receives insurance proceeds or Social Security survivor benefits.
Leading debate for the government, Leader of Government Business Senator Shenella Govia described the legislation as long overdue, saying it reflects modern family structures and places fairness and compassion at the centre of the justice system.
"This bill is really about families," Govia told senators. "Families whose lives have been shattered by the wrongful loss of a loved one."
Govia acknowledged that no amount of money can compensate for the death of a parent, spouse or child, but argued the law provides a fairer process for dependents seeking damages. She also stressed that the legislation is not limited to fatal road crashes but applies broadly to deaths caused by wrongful conduct.
Opposition senators supported repealing the century-old law but argued the bill should have been strengthened before passage. Senator Jonathan Wehner described the legislation as a significant improvement over the existing Act while maintaining that Parliament should correct its shortcomings before it became law.
Among the changes sought by the opposition was an amendment to Clause 4 to extend bereavement damages to surviving common-law partners. Opposition senators argued that while Clause 2 recognised cohabiting partners as dependents for some purposes, Clause 4 excluded them from bereavement damages — an inconsistency, they said, within the legislation itself.
The opposition also sought to reduce from one year to six months the period before dependents could commence legal proceedings where a deceased person's personal representative failed to act. A further proposed amendment would have allowed the $20,000 maximum bereavement award to be reviewed periodically, with opposition senators warning that inflation would erode its value over time. They suggested either indexing the payment or allowing Parliament to revise it through regulations.
Senator Ashworth Azille backed those amendments, arguing that Parliament should pass the strongest possible law rather than defer improvements to a later date.
Government senators rejected each proposal during the committee stage. Govia responded by saying legislation naturally evolves and that Parliament could revisit the Act if experience showed further amendments were necessary.
"There is not ever going to be one perfect bill that covers everything because time evolves," she said. "As we see situations arise, we come back to this honourable House and amend and adjust accordingly."
Following the defeat of all proposed amendments, the Senate approved the Fatal Accidents Bill by majority vote, clearing the way for the legislation to replace the 102-year-old law governing civil claims arising from wrongful deaths in Antigua and Barbuda.
