Richard Meggitt, Solicitor for ASD supports the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) campaign to ensure that there is a compensation fund of last resort for workplace claims. In many cases injured Claimants go uncompensated due to their employer being either uninsured, untraced or in breach of the insurance policy resulting in the policy being voided. If a company has no assets an injured person has no right to compensation even if the company is in clear breach of its obligations. ASD have acted for a number of individuals who have been left without compensation in such circumstances.
Over the coming weeks, APIL president Karl Tonks will meet with politicians from across the parties to discuss the plight of people who cannot trace the relevant insurers for their claim.
Last month marked the two year anniversary since the Labour Government’s consultation closed on how a fund of last resort could be established. But while APIL’s fight continues with urgency, its priority has always been that the response is the right one and that any fund compensates injured people properly.
The latest round of meetings follow on from previous discussions with MPs earlier in the year, as well as APIL’s media campaign in February which featured in 110 local and regional newspapers, as well as on regional television and radio.
The need for a fund has gained attention following high-profile debates relating to mesothelioma victims during passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In addition, APIL’s media campaign resulted in questions being asked on the floor of the House of Commons.
