Irwin Mitchell and Grief Encounter launch legal partnership to support bereaved children and young adults
As medical negligence lawyers, we often represent families who have lost a loved one. In addition to coping with their grief, people often find themselves trying to work through the practical and financial consequences of losing someone they love.
Sometimes, there is the added complexity of wondering whether the death of their loved one could have been avoided and dealing with an inquest or civil legal process, which can be confusing and overwhelming.
It's a privilege – but also a challenge - to support families with their legal journey following a bereavement, especially where there are young children in the family.
At Irwin Mitchell, we're fortunate to be part of a full-service law firm so we can quickly and easily refer our clients to many of the specialists they may need, for example probate solicitors and financial advisers. By partnering with charities such as Grief Encounter we can also put our clients in touch with the bereavement support experts they may need.
Working with Grief Encounter will also help us to be the best lawyers we can be.
Whilst advising and supporting our clients through the complexities of the legal process, we are necessarily working with them whilst they are grieving. Grief is different for everybody, and it's experienced differently for young people for whom it is often their first experience of loss, and they may struggle to express their emotions.
Whilst we work directly with the adults in the family, we're acutely aware that there are often children in the background struggling with the loss of a parent, sibling or grandparent. It is of enormous value for us to be able to collaborate with the experts at Grief Encounter, who are uniquely placed to educate us on how to best communicate with and support bereaved young people, and to help us to understand the different ways people grieve. This will in turn enable us to make the legal process as manageable as it can be for the families we represent.
We also look forward to delivering training to the team at Grief Encounter, to empower them to recognise circumstances where legal advice might be important for their families and young people.
Where there are questions about whether the death of a loved one could have been avoided, it's important that families have access to prompt legal advice because legal claims are usually subject to strict time limits.
Following a death, the focus of most families is of course on coping with the emotional consequences of bereavement and supporting their children. However, the compensation that may be recovered for children through a legal claim can be hugely helpful for them in the long term, for example by recovering losses in respect of parental contribution towards the cost of getting married or buying their first home.
Our partnership with Grief Encounter will allow more families to have these important discussions at the right time and in the right way, so we can make sure they are able to get the advice and support they need, and deserve, at the right time.
Andy Watts, head of fundraising (philanthropy) at Grief Encounter says: "We are delighted to partner with Irwin Mitchell who share our commitment to supporting families during the most difficult times of their lives.
"Irwin Mitchell’s support will help raise awareness and vital funds for our work with grieving children and young people following the death of someone close. In turn, families in need of legal support can draw on the expertise of the Irwin Mitchell team.”
Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in supporting families following the loss of a loved one at our dedicated bereavement section.
