Soldiers' injury awards to be reassessed
Updated on 12 October 2009
Compensation awards made to two wounded soldiers are to be reassessed after appeal court judges rule that higher awards are justified if injuries worsen. Carl Dinnen reports.
The Ministry of Defence had appealed against an increase in payments to Light Dragoon Anthony Duncan and Royal Marine Matthew McWilliams.
It had argued that compensation should only be paid for original injuries and not future complications. The two cases will now go back to a compensation tribunal to be reassessed.
Earlier this year, the court heard legal argument to clarify the principles under which the armed forces compensation scheme should be administered.
As a result of today's decision, the two cases will go back to a compensation tribunal for reconsideration.
At the time of the hearing in July, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced a review of the scheme would be speeded up, although the court's consideration of its current legal effect would continue.
Cpl Duncan was originally awarded £9,250, which was increased to £46,000 by the tribunal, and Marine McWilliams's £8,250 award was increased to £28,750.
The 27-year-old corporal was shot in Iraq in 2005 and overcame two years of rehabilitation to ship out in April this year with his Light Dragoons colleagues to fight in Afghanistan for six months. Marine McWilliams fractured his thigh in training.
Channel 4 News online reported last month that if the MoD loses the appeal it will face costs of £150m to improve previous compensation settlements to injured soldiers.
The £150m estimate was detailed in the last sentence, of the last paragraph
of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme resource accounts for 2008/09, which were
quietly published earlier this summer.
On the subject of the court
of appeal judgement it says: "As well as impacting on future cases there may be
a requirement to conduct a retrospective exercise to adjust some awards already
made.
"Current best estimate for this liability as at 31st March 2009 is £150m."
Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth said today: “It is now for the independent tribunal to decide the compensation for these two wounded servicemen, and we hope this happens as soon as possible. We look forward to Lord Boyce taking forward his review and ensuring we are providing the compensation our service men need and deserve.”
