Personal injury claim UK news
01/05/2007

Two firms of 'Greedy' Solicitors condemned by report

A new report has claimed that two unscrupulous firms of personal injury solicitors have been taking advantage of a compensation claim programme for sick miners.

The Government set up a £3.4 billion compensation fund intended for 760,000 British ex-coal miners who suffer from personal injuries such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

However, Labour ex-peer, Lord Lofthouse, claims that the two firms of personal injury solicitors have, between them, taken more than £100 million from the compensation pot, leading to needy miners having their compensation claim payouts reduced.

He is adamant that the money is the miners' and should be returned. He placed blame on the Law Society for failing to properly address miners' complaints that the personal injury solicitors had been unscrupulously taking legal fees.

In conversation with the BBC, he said, "It's immoral, when men and women have worked down the mine all their life".

He added, "I've spent a lot of time over this last 30 years, I presented five bills in the House of Commons on this subject. I haven't worked all these years to fill the pockets of greedy solicitors."

A spokesperson for The Claims Solicitors said, "It is very, very unfortunate that two firms of personal injury solicitors could be so unscrupulous as to allegedly exploit these miners for their own financial gain. 'Double-dipping' may be legal, but is a question of ethics and morality, and it certainly needs to be resolved in a just way."