Solicitors told to pay up miners cash

11:11am Friday 4th May 2007

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SOLICITORS holding back compensation cash from miners across the Leigh area have been urged to pay out in full by their governing body.

The Law Society has written to every law firm in England and Wales which deals with compensation claims after receiving thousands of complaints from ill miners overcharged on compensation awards for industrial injuries.

Law Society regulation board chairman, Peter Williamson and Shamit Saggar, chairman of the consumer complaints board, said the continued controversy surrounding charges has damaged confidence in solicitors and the system.

They said: "The reputational damage is, of course, exacerbated by the fact that most of the clients concerned were particularly vulnerable.

"Furthermore, it appears likely that for most firms the additional charges turned out to be unnecessary, in the sense that the level of costs in successful cases enabled the work to be carried out profitably notwithstanding the fact that no costs were recovered in unsuccessful cases."

Law firms involved in the £7.5 billion compensation scheme received a fixed fee from the Department of Trade and Industry for cases settled. But many also sliced money off compensation by charging a success fee.

Leigh Andy Burnham MP said: "I strongly welcome the Law Society's letter and would encourage all solicitors in the North West who have not yet paid money back to do so without delay.

"There was no need for solicitors or any other claims handling organisation to charge miners a fee or deduct any fee from compensation payments. "The government through the DTI ensured that solicitors received a fixed fee for cases settled."