§ Mr. Denis MurphyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total number of claims settled for the industrial disease, vibration white finger, before the new scheme was agreed, indicating the(a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average award. [69841]
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§ Mr. BattleAs at 4 February the Department has settled 3,572 claims for vibration white finger. Of these 1,968 have been settled by payment, and the remaining 1,604 have been ruled out. The individual settlement payments have ranged from £3,000 to £200, with an average of £1,900. The total cost of settlements to date is £3,646,349. In addition to this the Department has paid £1,033,979 in costs to plaintiffs' solicitors.
Since November last year Plaintiffs' solicitors have been advised that higher settlement levels were likely to be agreed with the Plaintiffs' Solicitors Group, who represent 60 per cent. of the plaintiffs, and they were asked to advise their clients accordingly.
Following the agreement reached with the plaintiffs' solicitors on 22 January the average award is likely to be in the region of £6,000 for General Damages (within a range of £500 to £18,000). Additional compensation for special damages will be decided on a case by case basis.