Another ‘no-win no-fee’ legal firm crashes

More than 2,500 workers have lost their jobs after no-win no-fee legal firm, the Accident Group, went into receivership.

Many workers were sacked by text message, by the personal injury claims firm, and employees are owed a month's salary with no money available to pay them, the company revealed. The company's collapse comes a year after another so-called 'ambulance chasing' company Claims Direct suffered a similar fate.

The Manchester-based firm, famous for its slogan, 'where there's blame, there's a claim', now faces the prospect of hundreds of lawsuits from former employees disgusted with their treatment and left seriously out of pocket.

Local MP Graham Stringer has asked the Department of Trade and Industry to investigate the company's practices. Thousands of claimants with the Accident group now face an uncertain future as the company tries to sell off parts of the business.

Thankfully any Usdaw member needing to call on the union's Legal Plus service will not be faced with this type of uncertainty. Last year the union recovered more than £16 million for members injured or unfairly treated at work.

"We've always warned workers against using these no-win no-fee outfits," said Legal Officer Kate O'Neill. "There are many horror stories out there where people have received only a fraction of their compensation award. That doesn't happen to Usdaw members who receive every penny of their compensation.

"The moral of the story is clear - you're better off in the union."

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