Ministry of Defence cut war heroes compensation in half

Lance Bombadier Ben Parkinson has his Armed Forces Compensation Scheme award cut in half and is medically discharged from the Armed Forces.

Lance Bombadier Ben Parkinson suffered severe injuries following a road side bomb explosion in Afghanistan in 2006. As a result of the explosion, Ben lost both of his legs and sustained severe head injuries. Indeed, it has been said that Ben is the most seriously injured service personnel from Afghanistan to survive.

Following the accident, Ben made an Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claim, a tariff based compensation scheme set up by the Ministry of Defence to compensate those injured during service.

Since the introduction of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, the Ministry of Defence has continuously faced heavy criticism for the way that damages are awarded. Injuries are now assessed in 5 ‘zones’ (the head and neck; the torso; upper and lower limbs; impact on the senses and mental health). A percentage will then be applied (100, 80, 60, 40 and 20) to each zone by order of severity to form the total award. Historically, the MoD would only take into consideration the top 3 injuries, no matter whether someone had sustained multiple catastrophic injuries. The scheme only compensates for personal injuries sustained during the course of ones service, it does not compensate for loss of earnings and any other losses sustained. This often results in severely injured ex-military personnel in dire physical and financial difficulties, with little or no employment prospects. At present, the highest award one injured person can receive under the tariff is £570,000, no matter whether the injuries combined total more than this amount.

Following consideration of the AFCS application, the Ministry of Defence wrote to Lance Bombadier Ben Parkinson saying that under the tariff, he would have been awarded £1,000,078, however, he would only receive £570,000 as per cap the Ministry of Defence have placed on the AFCS compensation.

The Ministry of Defence refused to comment.

Prior to the brutal stance taken by the Ministry of Defence, Ben had initially been awarded only £150,000 for his injuries. He appealed this and was then told that his injuries were in fact valued at £1,000,078 but he would only receive half of it.

Often when service personnel are injured on operations overseas, they are not able to make claims for compensation under UK civil law because of the ‘combat immunity’ defence and jurisdictional issues.  As part of a civil claim for compensation, a claimant is entitled to recover damages for personal injuries suffered and any other losses sustained as a result of the accident. For example, loss of earnings, loss of pension, military accommodation, operational allowances etc. A claimant is also able to recover any care costs where the claimant’s injuries are so severe, they need carers and/or friends and family to assist them with day to day life. If a civil claim for compensation could be made then Ben’s case would probably be worth several million pounds.

Often in situations similar to Ben’s, the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is the only form of compensation for personal injuries. It is therefore crucial that the award that is made is for the appropriate amount and does not under compensate.

Ben’s family have spoken out, being understandably angry about the harsh stance taken by the Ministry of Defence. Ben has also recently been informed by the Ministry of Defence that they will be discharging him from the service.

Up until now Ben has been receiving rehabilitation through the Armed Forces, he will therefore no longer have access to this.  Ben’s mother, Ms Diane Dernie, confirmed how the NHS will not be able to cope with Ben’s injuries. Initially, Prime Minster David Cameron promised Ben that he would be able to continue with his rehabilitation through the Armed Forces.  However, only a few months later, the promised rehabilitation ceased and he was thrown back into the National Health Service.

Even though the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme has recently been reformed, there remains injustice for those who suffer from multiple, serious injuries who require substantial care and rehabilitation to improve their quality of life.

Ben will receive his £570,000 award but this does not take into account the full extent of his injuries and does not begin to cover the loss and cost of his earnings, adapted accommodation, care, rehabilitation, pension nor the psychological impact his injuries must have had.

Is this how we want to treat our Armed Forces who are dying and being seriously injured for the sake of us all?