Welcome to: Claims 4 Compensation

Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister, has released the findings of his investigation into the alleged misappropriation of £7.5 billion that had been part of compensation paid to miners suffering from a wide variety of illnesses and conditions.

The report by former Home Office official Stephen Boys Smith concluded that most of the claimants did not in fact need legal assistance in settling their claims, and that the solicitors from the five law firms in question and the National Union of Mineworkers benefited financially at the expense of those for whom the compensation was intended.

In addition to taking payments from the Department of Trade and Industry, the law firms and mining union deducted substantial portions of the miners' compensation as "fees and services", in some cases as much as 20% of the claim, even though the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had already agreed to cover these costs on the miners behalf. Mr. Boys Smith urges that at least £50 million should be returned to the miners immediately. In order for compensation to happen, the Law Society urgently needs assistance and support from the government.

In looking back, it is clear that the original compensation scheme, created by the Department of Trade and Industry was overly complex, allowed for multiple legal loopholes that went against the favour of the miners; and that the number of potential claims was grossly underestimated, which currently stands at over 770,000 claims. The DTI had agreed to reimburse the 700 law firms responsible for resolving the claims, but there were no controls put into place and the system itself allowed for the frauds to take place. Safeguards remain loose.

There are also valid concerns regarding the validity of Mr. Boys Smiths' report. The two other members of his team are former employees of the Department of Trade and Industry, which of course questions their ability to be objective when examining the DTI role in all of this. These facts shed a certain tainted light on whether the findings report was in fact seeking to find DTI mistakes in these cases, or written to relinquish them from blame. In defence, Boys Smith stated that in the details of the compensation plan are highly complex; too much so for one report to cover. He recommended that an independent study at a microscopic level be commissioned.

Numerous other investigations have begun with new cases being discovered. The Serious Fraud Office is responding to inquiries from South Yorkshire Police, the Law Society is conducting its own investigation, and the High Court has launched two separate investigations.

In the meantime, the miners who were short changed after working diligently hours upon hours breathing in coal dust and working in sub par conditions; could really use the additional funds for medical expenses and to make their lives a little more liveable.