Former Miners are still waiting for compensation payouts over 10 years after they were first processed, according to figures released by The Public Accounts Committee yesterday.
The miners were waiting for payouts that were brought against British Coal after it was found they had been negligent towards the ex-workers for failing to offer sufficent precautions to prevent them from contracting chronic obstrusive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
Due to the extensive wait, many claimants have since died from illnesses and many legal team hired to tackle the cases have been able to rack up huge expenses at public expense.
Of the £2.3bn administration expenses, solicitors bills accounted for £1.3bn, with the average cost of processing each claim at £3100. This is more than what two-thirds of the miners recieved in compensation.
Just 10 law firms collected between them £635.8m in fees. The highest earner was Thompsons, which received £123.6m.
The government is chasing up to £100m in repayments from solicitors after a court ruling that certain cases should have incurred a smaller fee.
This wil