A judge in the Calcutta High Court ruled in July that a lawyer cannot claim a share of benefits paid to a client as accident benefit.
The ruling is significant as many subordinate court and tribunal judges pass orders directing the respondents to pay an amount of the compensation money to their lawyers.
Justice Indira Banerjee ruled that a truck driver, who lost one of his legs in a road accident in 2000, could not pay part of his compensation to his lawyer, The Telegraph reported.
The Workmen’s Compensation Tribunal had awarded the driver compensation of about US$12,750 on 6 May 2007.
The lawyer representing the driver “claimed that as he was fighting the case free, half the amount should be paid to him.” According to the driver’s new lawyer, Phiroz Edulji, the judge awarded him US$2,400 in cash. “The lawyer has no right to claim a share of the compensation without the consent of his client,” Edulji argued in the Calcutta court.
