Hickman v Peacey, [1945] AC 304

Citation:Hickman v Peacey, [1945] AC 304

Rule of thumb:Where people have died in a disastrous event, does the law have to make judgments on when each would have died? Yes, if this affects how much money people are owed in succession, the law is required to make reasonable estimations regarding when exactly people would have died.

Judgment:

This affirmed the ‘different times of every death’ principle – it is affirmed that there are no 2 deaths that occur at the exact same moment, and if the exact time of death cannot be stated exactly there is an onus upon them to make an estimation. There is a right to make detailed inquiries to ascertain as well as possible how and when people have died.

Ratio-decidendi:

‘I am not sure that the occurrence of two deaths at exactly the same point in time is possible, and still less am I inclined to accept the allegation that it can never be proved’, Lord Porter at 337

Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.