Lawyers are pocketing nearly £1 for every £5 paid in compensation to workers whose lives were ruined by asbestos.
New Government figures show for the first time the average legal bills attached to civil compensation claims for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer which kills more than 2,000 people in the UK each year. The cancer is usually caused by exposure to asbestos in workplaces such as shipyards and building sites.
A new study shows the average payout is £153,531 but the average legal bill for each case comes in at £28,407.
The aggressive nature of mesothelioma, and the fact that legal battles are often long and drawn out, mean that around 59% of claimants have passed away by the time compensation is paid.
Neil Findlay, Scottish Labour’s health spokesman, said: “It is a tragedy that many of those hardworking men and women left with industrial diseases like mesothelioma never lived to see a penny of the compensation they were owed, partly because of
delaying tactics by the companies responsible and their legal teams.
“While we know this compensation may never have been paid out had it not been for the expertise and hard work of the lawyers who won their cases over such a long period, those who have lost loved ones will wonder why so much of the money they are owed has been swallowed up by legal fees.
“This could have been avoided if the big companies had met their responsibilities to these workers and their families in the first place rather than dragging the cases through the courts for so long.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates of average compensation and legal costs were based on a survey of 2,334 mesothelioma claims settled between 2007 and 2012. One in five cases takes more than two years to settle.
The study shows the value of cases settled in Scotland are on average worth £53,500 more than in England and Wales.
The amount of cash dished out to claimants varies according to age, with the average payout for people under 65 standing at £194,466 and £95,188 for those 85 and over.
The insurance industry pays out around £200 million a year to mesothelioma sufferers.
SNP councillor Kenny MacLaren, who worked as a researcher with Clydeside Action on Asbestos and has campaigned on the issue for years, said: “Sadly these figures are not surprising as it has been in the interest of the big firms or their insurers to make sure these legal actions take as long as they can, thus adding to the costs.
“It would be better if that money was in the pockets of those affected or their families. I know from dealing with these cases that those diagnosed just want to know their loved ones will be looked after once they have gone.”
In 2011 the insurance industry set up a project to help sufferers find insurers if their former employer is no longer in business. The following year the Mesothelioma Support Scheme was established to help about 3,000 sufferers who can’t find an employer or insurer to claim from.
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