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The information below is intended to provide guidance as to whether you can claim compensation for injuries sustained as a member of the Armed Forces.
If you have any questions about this guide or if you require clarification as to whether you are entitled to make a compensation claim, feel free to contact us for free legal advice. We have solicitors who specialise in dealing with claims against the Ministry of Defence and once we have asked you a few questions about your individual case we will be able to provide you with expert advice as to what action you can take.
You can reach us on 08000 224 224 or by completing one of our online compensation claim forms.
Members of the Armed Forces (with certain exceptions), are in much the same position as teachers, labourers, nurses, construction workers and the rest of the civilian working population when it comes to claiming compensation for injuries they sustain whilst going about their duties.
If a serviceman or servicewoman is injured through the fault of someone else then they have much the same rights as other workers to pursue a claim for compensation against the responsible party (in most cases, this will be the Ministry of Defence).
In addition to making a claim for compensation against the person responsible for the injury, military personnel injured at work also have the ability to make claims under the statutory no fault Armed Forces Scheme or War Pension.
This is where an exception can apply and is sometimes known as “Combat Immunity”.
The law is complex and every case has to be assessed on its own facts but broadly speaking, if service personnel are injured when engaging the enemy or preparing for engagement in a theatre of war or warlike conditions, then the right to claim compensation from the MoD is, in effect, suspended. However, if the incident has nothing to do with combat then the combat immunity principle should not apply and the ordinary rules and principles should apply. For example, if a serviceman is injured in a traffic collision between Military vehicles in somewhere like Iraq, then depending on the exact circumstances, this may have nothing to do with combat. In this case the injured serviceman / woman may succeed in claiming compensation in the ordinary way as if the accident had happened on the local high street back in the UK. If however, the collision took place as part of a reconnaissance mission, the MoD may successfully argue that the activity was conducted whilst under the threat of attack and therefore the principle of combat immunity applies.
The majority of injuries to members of armed forces are of course sustained away from the battlefield and occur in the same way as injuries do in civilian circumstances.
As previously mentioned, whether or not combat immunity will apply will depend on the specific facts of each case. If you are in doubt about whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation, contact Thompsons Solicitors now for expert free legal advice. We will ask you a few questions about how your injury came to happen and then one of our solicitors who specialise in dealing with military claims will be able to let you know if we will be able to deal with your claim. You can reach us on 08000 224 224 or by completing one of our online compensation claim forms.
Many servicemen and women believe that they cannot pursue negligence claims for compensation against the MoD until they leave the service. This is wrong and can result in many injured individuals missing out on their due entitlements.
The confusion probably arises because under the old War Pensions Scheme, members of the Armed Forces could only claim once they had left the service.
If you have suffered an injury and are thinking about making a claim for compensation, you should seek legal advice immediately even if you are still a serving member of the Armed Forces. Time Limits apply to claims for compensation and if you wait until you leave the service, it may be too late to make your claim.
Members of the Military are quite rightly given special treatment over and above civilian workers. Because of the special job that military people do there is a scheme that will compensate them for their injuries in addition to any personal injury claim they make against the person responsible for their injury.
Before 6th April 2005 this scheme was the War Pensions Scheme which was replaced on 6th April 2005 by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
The War Pensions Scheme has now been replaced by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, but still exists for military personnel with injuries and conditions dating back to before 6th April 2005. The name “War Pensions” is somewhat misleading; however as in fact the scheme has little or nothing to do with Wars or Pensions. It is in effect a benefit system exclusively for members of the Armed Forces.
This scheme took over from the War Pensions Scheme on 6th April 2005 and applies to any injury or condition occurring on or after this date. As with the War Pensions Scheme it applies in addition to the ordinary legal rights of a service man or woman to claim compensation from the person responsible for their injury. Awards provided under this scheme are subject to a fixed tariff.
Under the scheme, unlike a claim submitted under the ordinary law in negligence, it is not necessary to show that the accident, injury or illness happened because of someone else’s fault. Where the injury or illness is deemed serious enough, then in addition to the award for the injury, the claimant will receive an award that will reflect the likely impact on his or her future earnings.
It is important to remember that is not a matter of one or the other. Just because someone receives an award under the AFCS or the War Pension Scheme it does not mean that they cannot pursue a claim in negligence. A Claimant can do both.
There are rules about what is known as “abatement” whereby downwards financial adjustments are made to reflect the success of the Claimant under both systems but invariably an injured person is always better off (most of the time significantly better off) by pursuing a claim in negligence where they are eligible.
It is also important to remember that claims under the AFCS (unlike the War Pension Scheme) can be made and should be made when the individual is still serving.
AFCS also applies to injuries sustained in combat and conflict.
However, although AFCS is in some important ways a welcome improvement on the old War Pension scheme, there are still, in the view of the author, serious shortcomings.
The widely reported case of Ben Parkinson is a stark demonstration of the limits of the AFCS. As many will know he received horrific injuries in conflict and received an award under the scheme running into some hundreds of thousands of pounds. He sustained his injuries in combat and therefore could not pursue a claim in negligence.
Others sustain similarly horrific injuries in circumstances where they can pursue claims in negligence. Whilst they may receive a most welcome award under the AFCS of say £200,000 a successful claim in negligence could result in an award of compensation of 10 times that amount.
The message therefore is to seek expert legal advice and not be satisfied with just the AFCS no fault payment. An injured serviceman or servicewoman may be entitled to a great deal more by pursing a negligence claim.
If you are in doubt about whether you can make a personal injury claim, a claim for a War Pension or a Claim under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme contact us now for expert free legal advice. One of our military solicitors will review the individual circumstances of your claim and let you know exactly what you are entitled to. You can reach us on 08000 224 224 or by completing one of our online compensation claim forms.
A Board of Inquiry or Regimental Inquiry (BOI) is a statutory form of service investigation into any serious injury or unnatural death or any other matter which the convening authority considers should be investigated. BOI’s are conducted pursuant to Queens Regulations.
The Regulations make it clear that the enquiry is a wholly domestic investigation. The inquiry is not a Court and it is not open to either the public or the press unless specific permission is granted.
The purpose of any service Board of Inquiry into an incident is to find out what went wrong and why, in order to prevent a recurrence. The purpose is not to apportion blame.
The panel or tribunal is not always the same but the President has to be an Officer of at least the rank of Captain. There has to be two other Officers either an Officer or a Warrant Officer. The Board should be convened within 48 hours of an incident occurring but it must be adjourned if a criminal prosecution is likely and the BOI cannot be reconvened until the Criminal proceedings have come to an end.
It is the practice of the MoD to provide the next of kin with the opinions, findings and recommendations of the BOI and the option of having the full BOI report should they so wish.
If Thompsons Solicitors take on your personal injury claim for compensation, they will deal with it for you on a cost-free basis. All of our legal costs will be recovered from the person responsible for your injury and we will not deduct anything from the compensation you are awarded.
Claims under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) can be submitted directly by individual claimants to the Veteran’s Agency without involving a Solicitor and The Royal British Legion can provide further advice if necessary - you can reach them on 0845 725 725.
Personal Injury claims made by military personnel have the same time restrictions placed upon them as personal injury claims made by civilians.
In the vast majority of cases, the deadline is 3 years from the date of the accident. There are only a few exceptions and these are explained in more detail on our Time Limits Page.
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) claims have to be made within 5 years of the accident happening or when medical advice was first sought after retirement where no particular incident caused the condition. There are special rules in certain circumstances where symptoms only develop at a later date.
