New system of compensation for sick and dying workers is a priority, say lawyers
“All employees have the right to go to work and come home unharmed. But when they are injured or made ill by their employers, they must be able to claim fair compensation for their injuries.” This is the message from Muiris Lyons, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), who has called on the government to implement a new system for providing compensation to sick and dying workers.
In response to a consultation called “Accessing Compensation” which closed at the beginning of May, Mr Lyons said injured people should be guaranteed “a system which will avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and will stand the test of time.” APIL in particular has drawn attention to the difficulty that industrial disease sufferers have when tracing the insurance companies who provided cover to their employers. As some work-related illnesses, such as asbestos-related conditions can take many years, if not decades to develop, the victims may find that their original employers have gone out of business.
APIL criticised the current system used to trace insurers, which is run by the Association of British Insurers, saying “It just does not work”. Delays in tracing insurance companies can be made worse where policy information hasn’t been preserved and in some cases the victim succumbs to their illness before a claim can be made. APIL is calling for a fund to be set up – probably along the lines of that run by the Motor Insurers’ Database, to pay out compensation claims to people who cannot trace the appropriate insurers to make their claim against.
Workplace injury claims with Camps Solicitors
At Camps Solicitors our workplace injury lawyers are ready and waiting to deal with your claim. With over 25 years experience acting on behalf of people who have been injured through no fault of their own in accidents at work, we have one of the highest claims success rates in the country.
When we take on your accident at work claim, one of our staff will come out to visit you in person, to explain the claims process to you and to give you the opportunity to have your questions answered. After this meeting, our office staff will keep you up to date with the progress of your claim via telephone, letter or email. We aim to take the pain out of your compensation claim, doing the work so you don’t have to.
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