In last week’s King’s Speech, the Government announced the appointment of a new, independent Armed Forces Commissioner.
The Armed Forces Commissioner, the first of its kind in the UK, will act as a “strong independent champion for our service personnel and their families, committed to improving service life and strengthening parliamentary oversight”.
The new Armed Forces Commissioner must be truly independent with no conflict-of-interest connections to the Ministry of Defence or Parliament.
Since 1988 I have acted as an independent solicitor seeking redress for our armed forces, their families and veterans when things have gone badly wrong.
From my experience, the military works well and looks after its own - until there is an injury or death in service, when it closes ranks and often withholds vital information. It is particularly distressing when there is a death in service. I have acted for numerous service widows and fought the might of the MoD in search of the truth. Often, we have uncovered the truth years down the line after discovering that the military have completely fabricated events surrounding a death.
When veterans and families in the UK suffer a death or injury in service, they largely have to rely on charity. For proud men and women this is a heart wrenching end to brilliant careers and sometimes years serving their country. Sadly, however, it’s the norm.
The Ministry of Defence fears compensation pay outs and “blame” either through the civil courts or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS.)
Much like Bates v The Post Office, this Government Legal Department, led by civil servants, drags out cases and payments to avoid liability. The military mantra “deny until they die,” is unfortunately, becoming true. No wonder recruitment is down. If you fall, you are cast out and on your own.
The new Armed Forces Commissioner needs to urgently review both the AFCS and civil claims procedure.
Here is my checklist for both:
AFCS
Completing the form - sometimes encouraged by medical and welfare teams this is often completed too soon before a final prognosis has been reached, forcing an initial award to be appealed.
Appeals that drag on for years. Latest figures from the 2023/2024 AFCS annual bulletin indicate that clearance times for appeals are continuing to increase (so too are clearance times for injury / illness claims and survivors’ claims).
Rejections - too many competed forms are rejected by underqualified medical teams only to be upheld after a long appeal process.
The Tribunal - this is a court of law and needs to be treated as such. Legal representation should be allowed. Medical reports and evidence can be complicated and for vulnerable applicants who are injured mentally, physically, or both, this is a daunting prospect.
Checks should be made on mental capacity before what can be large sums of money are paid into the bank account where salary was paid.
Checks on joint bank accounts and family dynamics (spouses taking awards).
Proper medical teams to assess applications at first instance.
Military medical records to be electronic to avoid months of delays.
Fast track of military F-Meds if required for medical treatment/AFCS/civil awards.
Veterans UK to be made independent of MoD - at the moment there is a clear conflict of interest with it being part of the MoD.
Civil Claims
1. Consider an independent insurer to assess claims (as used to happen with what was then Royal & Sun Alliance) taking a commercial view to settle claims quickly without years of legal expenses and trauma for clients.
2. The MoD is, inevitably, the employer, medical provider and tortfeasor (person who caused the injury or death). Investigating independently and reaching the right conclusions is compromised by the need to protect an image, blame and finances.
3. An early settlement procedure for the military to be publicly accountable.
Hilary Meredith-Beckham.
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