22p Compensation for dead miner's family..but lawyers pocket £1885
May 24 2011 Richard Smith
A family were given just 22p for the death of a coal miner - but their solicitors were paid £1885.
Relatives got the compensation under a Government scheme for former pitmen struck down by lung disease.
The unnamed family's award is the lowest payout made to 750,000 miners who suffered years of agony over the effects of breathing in coal dust.
The family of the unnamed miner live in Rhondda, south Wales.
Their Welsh assembly member Leanne Wood said yesterday: "It's insulting to award compensation of 22p to the family of a miner with chest disease.
"It wouldn't even pay for a chocolate bar.
"The case is made worse by the amount charged by the solicitors' firm for their work on this claim."
Miners campaigner Dafydd Trystan Davies said: "I am of the view that the proportion of money paid to solicitors was far too high in relation to the money received by ailing miners or their families.
"The National Audit Office found that 69 per cent of all claimants paid compensation got less than the average cost of administering the claims.
Kick
"It is a real kick in the teeth to all those miners who toiled underground in squalid conditions, risking their health and often ending up with a blighted retirement through chest disease."
The handout was decided by experts vetting the claims. Legal fees are paid regardless of the compensation.
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."
More than £1billion has been paid out since the scheme was launched by the Labour government.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/05/24/22p-compensation-for-dead-miner-s-family-but-lawyers-pocket-1885-86908-23153066/
May 24 2011 Richard Smith
A family were given just 22p for the death of a coal miner - but their solicitors were paid £1885.
Relatives got the compensation under a Government scheme for former pitmen struck down by lung disease.
The unnamed family's award is the lowest payout made to 750,000 miners who suffered years of agony over the effects of breathing in coal dust.
The family of the unnamed miner live in Rhondda, south Wales.
Their Welsh assembly member Leanne Wood said yesterday: "It's insulting to award compensation of 22p to the family of a miner with chest disease.
"It wouldn't even pay for a chocolate bar.
"The case is made worse by the amount charged by the solicitors' firm for their work on this claim."
Miners campaigner Dafydd Trystan Davies said: "I am of the view that the proportion of money paid to solicitors was far too high in relation to the money received by ailing miners or their families.
"The National Audit Office found that 69 per cent of all claimants paid compensation got less than the average cost of administering the claims.
Kick
"It is a real kick in the teeth to all those miners who toiled underground in squalid conditions, risking their health and often ending up with a blighted retirement through chest disease."
The handout was decided by experts vetting the claims. Legal fees are paid regardless of the compensation.
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."
More than £1billion has been paid out since the scheme was launched by the Labour government.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/05/24/22p-compensation-for-dead-miner-s-family-but-lawyers-pocket-1885-86908-23153066/
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