Although the circumstances of this case were exceptional, it was quite routine from a legal point of view.
When a person is killed in a traffic accident, his or her dependents take a case under Section IV of the 1961 Civil Liability Act, which provides for a dependency claim. The Act spells out the relatives who can take such a claim, but most commonly it is the spouse and children.
The case is normally taken against the person responsible for the accident and his or her insurer, or, as in in this case, against the Motor Insurance Bureau, which pays for claims against uninsured drivers. Darren O'Connor was driving without a driving licence or insurance when the accident happened.
The amount of compensation paid to dependents is calculated by examining the earning potential the deceased person would have if he or she lived and worked up to retirement age. To this is added all funeral-related expenses.
The amount of compensation for the pain and suffering caused to the surviving family members by the death is fixed by statute, and can appear to be quite small to those bereaved.
It was originally fixed at £7,500, but this was increased to £20,000 in 1996, and is now €25,390.
This means, for example, that this amount, plus funeral expenses, is all a family can claim when a child or young person is killed, as they would not be earning and would not have dependents.
The amount due in this case would therefore be based mainly on actuarial calculations of the type that feature in personal injuries cases in the High Court every day of the week.