APIL 'disappointed' over legal aid for bereaved families

10/03/2010

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has written to a national newspaper criticising the fact that the families of victims of the 7/7 bombings may be made to pay for their own legal representation when seeking injury compensation.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Denise Kitchener, chief executive of APIL, said that it is "disappointing" that, in spite of long-running discussions during the passage of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the issue was not addressed.

"All too often bereaved people, already distressed and completely unfamiliar with the system, face an unlevel playing field where they must use their own resources to gain funding," the letter read.

In January, the Ministry of Justice announced that victims of terrorist atrocities abroad will be able to claim injury compensation under a new measure that mirrors the existing domestic scheme, with payouts calculated according to the seriousness of the injury.

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