Twenty ex miners are now going to court to claim for compensation after they considered the compensation they were granted from the government to be below what they required. The miners are claiming against the law firms that originally worked on their behalf and advised them on their cases.
All of the ex miners involved are said to be suffering from vibration white finger, a common injury suffered by miners. The men are seeking compensation as the condition causes pain, numbness and lack of movement and use. The mines are seeking compensation to compensate them for the cost of tasks such as DIY and garden maintenance which they will not be able to carry out themselves anymore.
The government have claimed that the scheme was rolled out fairly and in the interests of the miners. If the twenty miners are successful in this fresh batch of claims then there is another 50,000 cases likely to go to court for review.
The former solicitors who represented the miners made claims under the government run compensation scheme which meant that they did not have to go to court.
Claims have previously reached annual payouts of up to 25,000 but the majority reach levels of around 3- 5000.
The government scheme was created in order to cover two common types of injury, white finger and lung disease. The scheme has now paid out an estimated 4.1 billion pounds to date.
The main issue concerning the miners was that they were given incorrect or misleading information by their solicitors when they placed their claims. Some cases have been settled outside of court but some law firms have refused to settle.
There has been much interest surrounding the treatment of miners who have required compensation and recent news stories surrounding law firms deducting client fees that were already covered by the government have made a big impact.
Over 3.6 million worth of deductions have now been recovered with the help of the Legal Complaints Service. The money recovered has since been returned to those involved.
In order to make a claim visit personal injury lawyer Cheshire. Cheshire solicitors O’Neill Morgan can help with a wide range of personal injury claims.