Army Injury Compensation: Your Right to Claim

Serving in the armed forces can be extremely dangerous, and suffering an injury due to the tasks undertaken as a member of the armed forces is common.

If you have been injured in an accident whilst serving in the army, as the result of the Ministry of Defence’s negligence, you may be entitled to bring a civil claim for army injury compensation.

Beacon Law have assisted those involved in accidents whilst serving in the army, including military personnel, service personnel and those in the reserve forces for the Army, RAF, and the Navy.

What is Army Injury Compensation?

If a person suffers and injury or illness during their service with the armed forces, they may be entitled to make a claim for compensation claim against the Ministry of Defence.

Making a claim for army injury compensation will enable the injured party to obtain a financial payment for their pain, suffering and loss of amenity, as well as ensuring they receive specialist medical treatment and rehabilitation for their injuries.

If you have been involved in a military accident that wasn’t your fault, contact Beacon Law today to find out if you could make a military accident claim.

Common Types of Army Injury Compensation Claim?

The most common types of army injury compensation claims we have dealt with include injuries as the result of:

• Negligent use of firearms
• Falls from height
• Accidents caused by faulty machinery
• Accidents caused by army vehicles
• Trench foot
• Accidents caused during training exercises
• Cold injuries, frostbite, and hypothermia
• Injuries caused by a lack of, or insufficient PPE

The MOD Duty of Care

It is a well known fact that serious injuries, and death are to be expected for some serving in the army. The Ministry of Defence are under a duty of care to ensure the safety of the people serving in the armed forces in some circumstances, but not all. In most circumstances, the MOD is not under a duty of care to protect their serving soldiers whilst in combat. This concept is known in law as “combat immunity.” There are, of course, some exceptions to this immunity and some injured military personnel have been successful in pursing a claim against the Ministry of Defence, even when their injuries were sustained during the course of combat.

If you injury was incurred as the result of an accident out of combat, for example, during a training exercise, the MOD has a duty of care to ensure the safety of all military staff in the same way an employer is expected to keep their employees safe. If you were injured as a direct result of the MOD’s negligence or breach of a duty of care, you may have grounds to make a personal injury claim.

Whether you were injured in service or out of service, Beacon Law will look into your case, and we will provide you with our expert opinion on whether we think your case has good prospects of success.

If a duty of care cannot be established, and a civil claim cannot be brought against the MOD, we would recommend making a claim through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

What to do After a Military Accident

If you have been injured, or suffered an illness whilst serving in the army, you should always seek medical attention straight away, and request medical discharge if required.

You should report the accident or incident to a senior officer who should record the incident in an accident report book. Read over all the details in this report before signing it to ensure that all the details are correct.

If possible, take any photographs of the area of your accident, or whatever you believe was responsible for your accident Try to obtain names and contact details of anyone who may have witnessed your accident.

If you are interested in making a claim for personal injury, contact Beacon Law to find out more about making an army injury compensation claim on a no win, no fee basis.

How Much Army Injury Compensation You Could Receive

It is difficult to place a monetary valuation on any army injury before knowing all the details of the injury and the impacts which it has had on the injured person’s life. Please note that compensation will be based on the type of injury sustained, as well as the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity incurred as a result.

Additional losses, such as travel costs, medical treatment costs, additional care and assistance, and loss of earnings will all be recoverable in addition to any claim for army injury compensation.

The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme(AFCS) or Civil Claim?

Making a claim through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is not the same as making a civil claim against the MOD. The amount of compensation obtained from a civil claim for compensation tends to be higher than pay-outs obtained from the AFCS. To make a civil claim for an army injury, you need to prove there was negligence that caused your accident, whereas when making a calim under the AFCS, you do not need to prove negligence. The AFCS provides compensation for any injury, illness, or death caused by service on or after April, 2005.

The compensation is paid as a lump sum for pain and suffering and, in some cases, a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP) for loss of earnings.

Lump Sum Payments:

• The amount ranges from £1,236 to £650,000, depending on the severity of the injury.
• Injuries are graded in tariffs, with tariff level 1 being the most severe (e.g., quadriplegia, which might receive the maximum lump sum) and tariff level 15 being the least severe.

Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP):

• This is a tax-free, index-linked monthly payment designed to compensate for the loss of potential earnings due to the injury.
• The amount depends on factors like the individual’s age, rank, and level of disability.

Although compensation from a civil claim is usually higher, you must be able to prove that the MOD has been negligent, and that your injuries were caused as a direct result of this negligence. If you would like to discuss your potential civil case against the MOD with one of our experienced solicitors then please get in touch with our team at Beacon Law today.

Time Limits for Making an Army Injury Compensation Claim

There is a three-year strict time limit when making a civil personal injury claim for army injury compensation. There are a few exceptions to this rule which our solicitors can discuss with your at the outset of your case.

If you decide to make a claim under the armed forces compensation scheme, you will have 7 years to make a claim. If the injury, illness, or death occurred while you were still serving, you must submit your claim within 7 years from the date of the incident. If the injury or illness became apparent after leaving the service, you must submit your claim within 7 years from the date of diagnosis or when it first came to your attention.

Why Choose Beacon Law?

Whilst pursuing an army accident compensation claim, Beacon Law can be your source of support and will help you recover the amount of compensation that you deserve. We understand that the process of a military injury claim can be difficult, so we will be there to guide you every step of the way.

We offer our services on a conditional fee agreement, otherwise known as a no win, no fee agreement, meaning that you will not be liable to this firm for our fees if your claim does not succeed.

After suffering injuries, we believe that you should have access to the best possible medical care and support available, and we endeavour to provide this to our clients. Due to our association with medical professionals, we are able to provide you with private treatment to assist you in your recovery.

We value each client that we have the pleasure of working with, listen carefully to our clients’ wishes, and will aim to complete your army injury claim in a timely manner so that you can receive the compensation that you deserve as soon as possible. If you have suffered an injury due to an accident that was not your fault, please get in touch with our law firm today.