Lance-Corporal in an infantry regiment

Our client was a well-regarded Lance-Corporal in an infantry regiment. He was a good marksman who had excellent prospects for promotion, having achieved the first level of promotion from Private within 10 months of joining his Unit. The usual time period for such progress is 3 to 4 years.

He was required to take part in an arduous 3-day battalion competition even though he was already carrying an injury. As a result he suffered severe and acute back pain. He should then have been allocated to desk duties to enable his recovery and return to full duties, but instead he was given the job of sorting out the Company’s furniture stores. This involved carrying mattresses, broken beds and similar items up and down several flights of stairs. These duties caused his back symptoms to become chronic, and instead of achieving his ambition of a military career, he was medically discharged from the Army.

With characteristic determination, he has begun to pursue an alternative career track in sports therapy. But he has suffered pain, disability and financial loss as a result of the Army’s negligence, and we issued court proceedings against the Ministry of Defence claiming compensation. His claim was settled on the payment of agreed damages and costs following our meeting with their legal team in November 2010.

Navy Paramedic with fractured ankle

A fractured ankle caused by a badly-placed mooring rope put a stop to hopes of a full service career and lucrative post-Navy prospects in the off-shore gas and oil industries. After initially denying liability, the MoD eventually accepted that it was responsible, and judgement was entered for the Claimant. The court will assess the damages at a later date.

A wrist injury that could have been fixed was referred to a specialist too late to be cured

A wrist injury that could have been fixed was referred to a specialist too late to be cured. The promising career of a talented NCO was cut short, and he was medically discharged. Liability was admitted by the MoD and damages to be assessed by the court.

RAF Military Policeman

RAF Pilot with Toothache

This pilot went to the field hospital in Basra suffering from toothache. The Forces dentist identified an infected root, but chose to extract the wrong tooth. The culprit remained in place, causing months of pain, and a very unusual injury - partial loss of sense of smell and taste. We obtained him compensation of £16,000.

RAF Helicopter Pilot

Back Pain for Rifleman X

After a lifetime's service in the Brigade of Gurkhas, Rifleman X became ill and was posted to the Gurkha Museum, supposedly to do gentle work which would not injure him further. He was not adequately assessed or trained, however, and was given lifting work which brought forward painful back pain by two years. He instructed us to help, and we won him £10,500 in compensation.

Rifleman X