Injury lawyers in government payments probe - 31/03/2008An Injury law firm that has donated more than £132,000 to the Labour Party, has been criticised for standing to benefit from a change in asbestos compensation legislation by the government.
Thompsons Solicitors, who have already earned hundreds of millions of pounds in public funds to fight injury claims over the past few years, specialises in representing the victims of asbestos poisoning.
Currently only people who have been poisoned by asbestos in the workplace can apply for large scale compensation, but a new bill being passed by parliament extends this to anyone who inhaled the dust elsewhere.
Thompsons provide the funding for many public backed action groups to claim for compensation and critics believe that there would be a conflict of interest in the light of these government payments if Thomsons were to benefit from any resulting business.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has admitted that it will investigate if any rules had been broken through Thomsons having a monopoly in compensation claims from asbestos action groups.
A spokesman said: "This could raise fears that the company might not be offering impartial advice to its clients. We are making enquries."
Thomsons wished to point out that while payments had been made, they were always transparent in the public record. The donations were made because they wanted to show support to the government for supporting the rights of more people to be able to fight for compensation if victims of negligence.
A spokesman for Thomsons said: "As a law firm acting for claimants in asbestos cases, we believe that support groups can play a positive role in assisting victims and their families devastated by asbestos disease."
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