22p in compensation for the grieving family of a coal miner
Tuesday May 24, 2011 at 5:00pm
Grieving relatives of a dead coal miner were given a cheque for just 22p in compensation but their solicitors received £1885.
The family of the unnamed coal miner from Rhonda, South Wales, felt insulted by the derisory amount offered.
Leanne Wood, their Welsh assembly Member, said:
“It wouldn’t even pay for a chocolate bar.
“The case is made worse by the amount charged by the solicitor’s firm for their work on this claim.”
Miners were paid compensation under the Miners Compensation scheme set up by the Government in 1999 to support former British Coal Miners who had sustained chronic lung disease and vibration white finger as a result of working in the pits.
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: “The family were offered 22p because the miner had an extensive history of smoking and very little relevant employment after the qualifying period.”
The level of compensation paid to miners is determined by the courts while the fees payable to their solicitors for handling the claims were fixed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Solicitors representing miners are paid exactly the same fee per case depending on the category regardless of how much their clients receive for each case.
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