Mother's fight for compensation
Updated on 28 August 2007
The mother of a soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan hopes to go to the High Court to challenge the £150,000 compensation he was awarded.
Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 23, needs specialised medical care for the rest of his life after suffering 37 injuries when a landmine exploded in Helmand Province last September.
He also suffered a brain injury, fractures to his skull, cheekbone, nose, jaw and pelvis, fractured vertebrae, as well as serious damage to his spleen and chest.
Reports claim he is one of the most-severley injured soldiers to survive.
The paratrooper was awarded £152,150 in compensation but his mother, Diane Dernie, said that is an "insult".
The amount of compensation for injured military personnel is capped at £285,000 and Lance Bombardier Parkinson has received around half of that.
Mrs Dernie, 49, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, is setting up a "fighting fund" to pay for her High Court bid.
She said: "We just can't believe that a scheme intended to care for soldiers who put themselves in such dangerous situations could be so flawed.
"Any assessment of injury must look at the totality of those injuries to make a true award based on the long-term needs of the victim.
"The severity of Ben's injuries means that we need to be able to move to an adapted house to help him live as normal a life as possible.
"I really don't feel this will be possible with an award of this size."
According to Lance Bombardier Parkinson's lawyers say the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) only considers the three "worst" injuries, which are then assessed financially against a set tariff.
The limit of £285,000 for compensation compares with the maximum amount of £500,000 available from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for the victims of violent crime.
Mrs Dernie said her plans for a legal challenge are being backed by a number of other injured servicemen and their families.
She added: "We owe it to all the injured soldiers to fight for the compensation they deserve, and which will help them to live the best quality life they can expect."
AFCS rules means the soldier cannot receive the full compensation amount because this only goes to those who have lost all their limbs and therefore fall into Category 1.
His most serious injury is the loss of his legs, a Category 3, which sees him receive £115,000.
The injury to his brain is also worth £115,000 but because it is his second injury, he only receives 30 per cent of the total, meaning an extra £34,500.
The fractures in his arm, which have made it useless, add a further £2,650.
Because the current system means only the first three injuries are taken into account, the 34 others suffered by the soldier do not count.
Her solicitor, Andrew Buckham, said: "The current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are resulting in service personnel returning to the UK with horrific injuries which will need rehabilitative support and care in the long term.
"The current scheme is not flexible enough to fairly assess the cases of multiple injury such as Ben's and with an upper limit of £285,000 the scheme does not provide sufficient funds to meet the future needs of severely injured service personnel."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "The AFCS scheme is based on modern best practice and was developed in line with other existing, established models such as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
"But we are keeping it under review in light of experience, particularly the complex injuries currently being sustained on operations, to ensure that it remains focused on the most severely injured.
"All seriously injured personnel successfully claiming under AFCS will receive a lump sum as well as inflation-proof tax-free income, paid for life. This can amount to hundreds of thousands pounds over a lifetime."
The MoD stressed that Lance Bombardier Parkinson could receive up to £1 million over his lifetime once his monthly compensation payment is taken into account.
A spokesman said the £152,000 figure was a lump sum which has been paid to him but the soldier will also receive a Guaranteed Income Payment for the rest of his life once he has left the Army.
In a statement, the Ministry said: "The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme has made a lump sum payment to Ben Parkinson and will make additional monthly tax-free payments when he leaves service.
"The sum total of these could exceed £1 million over his lifetime.
"Earlier this summer (Defence Minister) Derek Twigg commissioned a review of multiple injury payments.
"We are awaiting the outcome of that review.
"The MoD is doing its best to give Mrs Dernie support at this difficult time."
