A High Court ruling last week has shattered hopes of compensation for scores of North East miners with vibration white finger (VWF), says Roger Maddocks, partner at Irwin Mitchell.
A High Court ruling last week has shattered hopes of compensation for scores of North East miners with vibration white finger (VWF), says Roger Maddocks, partner at Irwin Mitchell.
Maddocks, who acted for the claimants, says the way the government handled the British Coal VWF Claims Handling Arrangement (CHA) means many ex-miners are missing out on compensation. The claimants had hoped the courts could resolve the disputes, however in AB & Ors (Claimants) and British Coal Corporation (first defendants) & other scheduled defendants (second defendants), the High Court said individuals’ disputed claims for compensation under the CHA could not be resolved in the courts. Instead, VWF sufferers who have had their claims rejected under the CHA will have to mount their own civil cases. Maddocks says: “The High Court has effectively washed its hands of cases under the CHA that are
