Dear Supporter
We are writing to mesothelioma sufferers and their families who are making a claim for compensation, or who have made a claim for compensation, because the Government intends to make major changes which may seriously affect mesothelioma claimants in the future.
Currently, on winning your case the guilty defendant pays all the legal costs associated with your case so that no legal costs are deducted from your compensation and you do not have to take any financial risk on making a claim for compensation. We think that is fair.
The Government has introduced a Bill (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill) to make people who claim compensation for a personal injury or disease, including mesothelioma sufferers, pay some legal costs out of their compensation. It will also mean lawyers are less likely to take on difficult cases which mesothelioma cases often are.
The costs could amount to 25% of compensation for pain and suffering and past financial losses as well as for outlays such as essential medical reports or for taking out insurance to cover the defendant’s legal costs.
It would not be possible to know in advance exactly how much would have to be paid out of compensation in order to pay for legal costs and insurance
We would like to know if you think it is right that mesothelioma sufferers should, in the future, have to risk part of their compensation to pay legal costs, and whether your decision to claim compensation would have been affected if you had to risk losing part of your compensation to pay legal costs.
We would be very grateful if you would kindly complete the attached short questionnaire and return it to the Asbestos Forum.
Yours sincerely
Tony Whitson
Chair of the Asbestos Forum UK
———————————————————————————————
Questionnaire
Q. 1. Do you oppose the proposals to make innocent mesothelioma sufferers who make a claim for compensation risk paying for some of their legal costs out of their compensation?
Please tick Yes No
Q2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
A) Making me pay part of my compensation in legal costs would have made a difficult time worse.
Agree Disagree
B) It was a big decision to make a claim; having to risk any of the compensation in legal costs would have made that decision even more difficult.
Agree Disagree
C) It was a big decision to make a claim; having to risk paying costs, like the cost of insurance premiums, if the case had been lost would have made that decision even more difficult.
Agree Disagree
Comments:
Please return this form to:
Tony Whitson
Windrush Millennium Centre
Unit 2.5
70 Alexandra Road
Moss Side Manchester M16 7WD
Email:asbestos.gmavsg@virgin.net
