Compensation claims are possible for injuries suffered whilst serving in the British Armed Forces.
Anyone who serves in the UK Army, Navy or RAF knows that there is a risk involved with military service. Despite this risk, some accidents should still never have happened and could well have been avoided.
If you have been injured in the course of your work and it was not your fault, you might be able to make a military injury compensation claim. This action will normally be bought against the Ministry of Defence, although you could also make a claim against a third party depending on the circumstances of your accident.
I Suffered a Military Injury – What Can I Claim Compensation for?
There are quite a few scenarios that could lead to serving personnel making a military compensation claim. These include:
• An injury that occurs in the workplace
• Accidents that occur while you are on Armed Forces manoeuvres
• Road traffic accidents on a military base or civilian property
• Injuries caused by faulty kit
• An injury involving faulty weapons
• Illnesses or disease picked up by military personnel at work
• PT injuries
• Accidents caused by a lack of necessary training
• Medical negligence – click here for more information about medical negligence in the Armed Forces
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – click here to find more out about claiming for PTSD
• Claiming for loss of hearing or deafness – click here to find out more
This list doesn’t include every scenario in which you could claim military injury compensation, but it does offer a guide to the sort of claims that can be made.
If you are unsure whether or not your injuries could lead to a claim – give our specialist solicitors a call on 01722 422300 or FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for
- FREE advice over the phone
AND - a FREE 30 minute interview.
Don’t Be Afraid to Claim Compensation for Your Injury – You’re Not Alone
Don’t worry about being seen to be part of the so-called compensation culture. The reality is that the MoD have regularly failed to satisfactorily protect Armed Forces personnel.
If you do make a claim, you certainly won’t be alone. In the most recent figures compiled over a 7 year period, the MoD have confirmed that 36,000 retired and serving military personnel successfully won compensation for their injuries.
I was injured in combat – does that mean I can’t claim compensation?
No – following a recent ruling in the Supreme Court, UK human rights legislation now covers military personnel engaged in combat, whether home or abroad. The court found that the principle of combat immunity did not mean Armed Forces personnel weren’t covered by human rights as recognised by UK law.
That means that even though your injury was caused in action, you could still be entitled to compensation – if, for example you were not properly trained or were not provided with the right military equipment.
This has already given rise to a number of successful compensation claims made by soldiers and their families.
It’s likely that as a result, there will be a significant number of claims in the future by British Forces personnel injured in combat
It’s a particularly difficult area of law – but if you think this applies to you, get in touch with one of our military injury claims team for an initial FREE chat.
Can’t I simply use the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme?
You may also have heard of the Armed Forces compensation service scheme or AFCS.
If your injury took place after April 6, 2005, you may also be entitled to claim compensation through the MOD’s own compensation scheme.There are, however, some serious drawbacks to AFCS – though it can sometimes award financial damages up to seven years after your accident.
Click here for information about the very real problems with claims using AFCS, and why awards made under the scheme often mean much less cash in your pocket.
Solicitors, like ours who specialise in military claims work, will be able to tell you whether AFCS is a practical option for you.
Military Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Will I Be Awarded?
If you can prove your case, you should be awarded compensation. The amount you get will depend on the severity of your injuries and how it has affected your capacity to work in the future.
This means that several factors are taken into account:
• The nature of your injuries and how they occurred
• Your loss of earnings, both now and in the future, as a result of the injury – this can take into account issues such as your loss in relation to promotion or the amount of your future HM Forces pension
• Additional costs caused by your injury – this could include the cost of medical treatment, adapting a vehicle for your use or changes made to your home to accommodate your injury
Military Injury Claims – Are There Any Time Limits For Making a Claim?
It is important that you start your claim for compensation as soon as you can because, as with the majority of personal injury claims, you need to do this within three years of the accident in order for it to be valid.
There are a couple of exceptions to this [including if you are not aware of the injury at first]. So, if you are made ill in the course of your work or are injured in some way but this is only diagnosed later, the time limit begins from when you first became aware of the problem.
Do I Really Need a Specialist Military Injury Solicitor?
We think so.
- Experts in injury claims Firstly it’s really important to have an experienced solicitor who specialises in injury claims. Some solicitors try to cover numerous areas of law, and other law firms farm injury claims to unqualified junior paralegals. We don’t think that’s the right approach. And that’s why our military injury team consists only of solicitors – so you have a named solicitor who you will meet and who will run your case from beginning to end.
- One member of our injury claims team is a fully accredited member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel and another member, prior to qualification as a solicitor, worked for many years as a fully qualified nurse.
- Experts in military law. Secondly we think that when making a military injury claim, which is usually against the MoD, it’s important to someone who understands how the military work. We do. Not only are we member of Forces Law, the only organisation for specialist Armed Forces law firms, but with three offices around Salisbury Plain, a significant part of our work has always been acting for retired and serving forces personnel. So we understand how to deal with the MoD [who are usually very uncooperative], and the importance of other critical issues such as military pensions.
How Will My Military Accident Compensation Lawyer Help?
Your lawyer will be able to guide you through the claims process at what is likely to be a difficult time for you. They will be able to make sure you adhere to all of the relevant time limits and gather evidence to help prove your case. They’ll also be able to give you a good guide as to how much compensation you might be entitled to.
Thinking of making a UK Military Injury Compensation Claim? Contact us today
Our Accident Compensation Claim Lawyers have the expertise you need.
- Call us today locally on Salisbury [01722] 422300 or FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 for FREE phone advice and a FREE first interview
OR - E-mail our team using the contact form below