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Anhörigersättning vid brott

Grönberg, Hannes LU (2021) LAGF03 20212
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Anhörigersättning är ett skadestånd som i vissa fall betalas ut till personer som tillhör anhörigkretsen till en person som har drabbats av brott eller en i övrigt skadeståndsgrundande handling. Ersättningen syftar till att kompensera de anhöriga för den psykiska chock som händelsen har orsakat dem. Svensk rätt har länge präglats av en restriktiv inställning till anhörigersättning. Det var först 1993 som HD överhuvudtaget dömde ut skadestånd i en sådan situation. Sedan dess har möjligheterna för anhöriga att få ersättning successivt utökats. HD har spelat en avgörande roll för denna rättsutveckling. Det har även antagits ny lagstiftning som har gått åt samma håll. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka och rekonstruera gällande rätt... (More)
Anhörigersättning är ett skadestånd som i vissa fall betalas ut till personer som tillhör anhörigkretsen till en person som har drabbats av brott eller en i övrigt skadeståndsgrundande handling. Ersättningen syftar till att kompensera de anhöriga för den psykiska chock som händelsen har orsakat dem. Svensk rätt har länge präglats av en restriktiv inställning till anhörigersättning. Det var först 1993 som HD överhuvudtaget dömde ut skadestånd i en sådan situation. Sedan dess har möjligheterna för anhöriga att få ersättning successivt utökats. HD har spelat en avgörande roll för denna rättsutveckling. Det har även antagits ny lagstiftning som har gått åt samma håll. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka och rekonstruera gällande rätt på detta område.
Resultatet av min undersökning visar att HD har ställt upp krav på att vissa förutsättningar måste föreligga för att det ska finnas en rätt till anhörigersättning i det enskilda fallet. Vilka dessa krav är varierar beroende på omfattningen av de fysiska skador som har drabbat den primärt skadelidande.
En återkommande fråga som har motiverat den försiktiga inställningen är en oro för de samhällsekonomiska konsekvenserna av en alltför långtgående rätt till anhörigersättning. Det som åsyftas är kostnader för försäkringsväsendet och staten. HD har vid upprepade tillfällen uttryckt en osäkerhet kring hur en utvidgning av skadeståndsansvaret skulle belasta systemet.
Trots den återhållsamma inställningen märks en tydlig tendens i både rättspraxis och lagstiftning att uppmärksamma anhörigas situation. Rätten till anhörigersättning har också blivit starkare sedan 1993. Det är troligt att denna utveckling kommer att fortsätta. Bland annat så finns det för närvarande ett utredningsförslag ute på remiss som syftar till att öka nivån på den ersättning som betalas ut till anhöriga till brottsoffer. (Less)
Abstract
When a violent or otherwise serious crime has been commited, it affects not only the victim of the crime, but also relatives that have a close personal relation to the victim. Parents, spouses, children and siblings of the injured party often experience anxiety and psychological shock when they are informed about the event.
This study aims to analyse how the swedish law of tort handles claims against an offender by close relatives of the victim due to non financial damage in the form of psychological shock caused by the crime. In 1979 the Swedish Supreme Court found that relatives of victims that had suffered mental problems in these types of situations couldn’t be awarded damages against the offender. The decision stated that the... (More)
When a violent or otherwise serious crime has been commited, it affects not only the victim of the crime, but also relatives that have a close personal relation to the victim. Parents, spouses, children and siblings of the injured party often experience anxiety and psychological shock when they are informed about the event.
This study aims to analyse how the swedish law of tort handles claims against an offender by close relatives of the victim due to non financial damage in the form of psychological shock caused by the crime. In 1979 the Swedish Supreme Court found that relatives of victims that had suffered mental problems in these types of situations couldn’t be awarded damages against the offender. The decision stated that the injury wasn’t proximately caused by the event. In 1993 the ruling was reversed and the court decided that offenders of certain crimes were liable to pay damages to relatives of victims. The Supreme Court did however limit the liability to only include lethal violent crimes that had been commited with intent. During the following decades the right to be awarded damages against the guilty party has gradually increased. The Supreme Court has played a major role in advancing the development of law in this direction. There is no longer a requirement that an harmful act was commited with intent, and in the case of lethal injuries, the relatives of the injured party has a right of compensation even when the tortfeasor was acting under strict liability. If the injured party has sustained non lethal but life-threatening injuries on the other hand, the offender is only liable if the act was commited with intent or gross negligence.
There has been continous concerns about the financial effects on the insurance system and state expenditure by expanding the liability of criminal offenders in this way. The Supreme Court has been forced to strike a balance between the private interests of relatives of crime victims and the general interest of not increasing the costs of insurance takers and public finances. There is however a clear trend in the swedish legal system to recognise the rights of relatives of crime victims to be compensated for the psychological injuries they have suffered due to the criminal act. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Grönberg, Hannes LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20212
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Skadeståndsrätt, anhörigersättning
language
Swedish
id
9069579
date added to LUP
2022-02-15 11:35:12
date last changed
2022-02-15 11:35:12
@misc{9069579,
  abstract     = {{When a violent or otherwise serious crime has been commited, it affects not only the victim of the crime, but also relatives that have a close personal relation to the victim. Parents, spouses, children and siblings of the injured party often experience anxiety and psychological shock when they are informed about the event. 
 This study aims to analyse how the swedish law of tort handles claims against an offender by close relatives of the victim due to non financial damage in the form of psychological shock caused by the crime. In 1979 the Swedish Supreme Court found that relatives of victims that had suffered mental problems in these types of situations couldn’t be awarded damages against the offender. The decision stated that the injury wasn’t proximately caused by the event. In 1993 the ruling was reversed and the court decided that offenders of certain crimes were liable to pay damages to relatives of victims. The Supreme Court did however limit the liability to only include lethal violent crimes that had been commited with intent. During the following decades the right to be awarded damages against the guilty party has gradually increased. The Supreme Court has played a major role in advancing the development of law in this direction. There is no longer a requirement that an harmful act was commited with intent, and in the case of lethal injuries, the relatives of the injured party has a right of compensation even when the tortfeasor was acting under strict liability. If the injured party has sustained non lethal but life-threatening injuries on the other hand, the offender is only liable if the act was commited with intent or gross negligence.
 There has been continous concerns about the financial effects on the insurance system and state expenditure by expanding the liability of criminal offenders in this way. The Supreme Court has been forced to strike a balance between the private interests of relatives of crime victims and the general interest of not increasing the costs of insurance takers and public finances. There is however a clear trend in the swedish legal system to recognise the rights of relatives of crime victims to be compensated for the psychological injuries they have suffered due to the criminal act.}},
  author       = {{Grönberg, Hannes}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Anhörigersättning vid brott}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}