Some law firms take a percentage of a child abuse survivor pay-out instead of the lower fees paid by the government scheme.
Joanne Peacher received an undisclosed award from Redress Scotland for abuse when she was a child in careLaw firms have been criticised over how much they are charging child abuse survivors to help secure compensation.
A BBC investigation has discovered some leading law firms - including Scotland's biggest personal injury solicitor Digby Brown - are not taking these fees and instead billing clients up to 10% of their compensation award, which can be as much as £10,000. Abuse charities and some solicitors have also criticised the practice, with one Tory MSP saying he had warned that legal firms would exploit the "loophole".Payments are being made to those who suffered historical childhood abuse while in care
Last month, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said more than £11m was paid out from the compensation scheme in its first year.Image caption,One of those who received a pay-out is Joanne Peacher, who was raped by a priest in a Nazareth House children's home in Glasgow when she was just eight years old.Ms Peacher applied for the award in February last year and asked Digby Brown, Scotland's biggest personal injury firm, to help with her application.
Solicitor Simon Collins, of Collins & Co, which represents abuse survivors, said his firm and many others only accessed fees paid by Redress Scotland."Solicitors should be paid but firms should not charge percentages of the survivors' pay-outs," he said.Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said his amendment to close the loophole was voted down when the law was passed.
The spokesman added: "We do not charge a flat percentage for redress applications and any fees incurred are deferred until the case has settled and reflect the value of the exhaustive investigative work required to navigate and undertake Redress applications."
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