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Types of Personal Injury Compensation Claims involving Military Personnel

Personal Injury Compensation claims for Accidents or other Industrial Diseases

Unfortunately any member of the armed forces who suffered a personal injury as a result of their service before 15th May 1987 is unable to make a claim for their injury due to the Crown Proceedings Act, which did not allow this. This Act is still affecting many ex-servicemen and women today who were exposed to asbestos during their time in the military prior to 15th May 1987 that have now gone on to develop an asbestos related condition.

The good news is; however that the rules have now changed and any member of the Armed Forces who is injured or exposed to asbestos during their service at home or abroad after 15th May 1987 can now make a personal injury claim for compensation. If a Personal Injury Solicitor can show that the Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy were negligent, a personal injury claim can now be dealt with in the same way a member of the public would make a claim against their employer. This would not apply; however, if the injury was caused as a direct result of an active operation or ongoing conflict being dealt with by the military. For more information about asbestos and making compensation claims for asbestos related diseases visit our asbestos related diseases page.

All employers, including the Ministry of Defence, now have a responsibility to protect their employees, contractors and visitors. This includes ensuring: -

They provide their employees with the necessary machinery and tools to complete their jobs. They also need to ensure the machines and tools are maintained to a safe condition.

The workplace is kept in a safe and tidy condition. Employees should be provided with suitable workstations and chairs and the floor and corridors should be clean and free from hazards. Doors and gates should not be obstructed.

All employees required to lift heavy objects should receive training to show them how to do this safely.

All employers are provided with any safety wear they require to complete their jobs, such as goggles, hard hats, ear guards, dust masks, safety gloves, safety boots or high-visibility jackets.

Injury Claim Advice

As mentioned previously, as long as your accident was caused due to the negligence of your employer, you will be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim unless the injury was caused as a direct result of an ongoing conflict, the military was involved in. If your accident was caused during and as the result of a conflict and occurred after 6th April 2005, you may be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim via the no fault Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. If your accident was caused during and as the result of a conflict and occurred before 6th April 2005, you may be entitled to make a claim for a War Pension payment. There are time limits to make claims through both of these schemes; therefore you should not wait until you leave the Armed Forces to start your claim, you should act immediately.

In some cases, it is possible to make a claim via the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pension Scheme and still make a civil personal injury compensation claim for damages. If you have suffered an accident as a member of the military, it will be worth contacting a personal injury lawyer for compensation claim advice to discover exactly what you would be entitled to.

Making a Claim

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all personal injury matters. We will be able to advise you whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Thompsons Solicitors to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.

There are strict time limits in place to make any injury claim.  For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

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Personal Injury Compensation Claims for Road Traffic Accidents

If you are a member of the armed forces and you are involved in a non-fault road traffic accident in the UK, a personal injury lawyer in the UK will be able to help you make an accident compensation claim for the injury you have sustained whether your accident was caused by another member of the armed forces or a member of the general public.

If your non-fault accident happened whilst you were abroad and the third party driver was another member of the armed forces, then your claim will still be very straight-forward and can be dealt with by a personal injury lawyer in the UK. If the accident was caused by a member of the public abroad; however, this is not as straight-forward and you would require claim advice from a personal injury lawyer based in the country where the accident happened. This is due to the fact that laws and procedures for making personal injury compensation claims vary from country to country.

One other exception for members of the armed forces involved in road traffic accidents is that they cannot claim for an injury they have sustained, which was caused as a direct result of an ongoing conflict they are dealing with. Therefore, if your car accident was directly related to a conflict taking place you cannot claim compensation for your injury in the normal way. You may; however, be able to make a personal injury compensation claim via the no fault Armed Forces Compensation Scheme if your accident occurred after 6th April 2005, or make an application for a War pension payment if the accident occurred before 6th April 2005.

Compensation Advice

Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all personal injury matters. We will be able to advise you whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Our specialist personal injury lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have. If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Thompsons Solicitors to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for you. Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.

There are strict time limits in place to make any injury claim.  For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.

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