Military personnel do a vital job for our country, often in tough and unsafe conditions. Unfortunately, service personnel do get injured in the course of their work and sometimes even killed. Whilst this may be caused by combat and is sadly unavoidable, sometimes it is caused by simple negligence.

Military Injury Compensation – common causes

If you are a serving member of the UK military and have suffered a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence, then you might be able to make an injury claim. The range of situations in which a military injury might qualify for compensation include:

• An injury caused overseas

• Psychological trauma caused by combat [ including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]

• Assault caused by a colleague

• A member of the armed services being killed in a situation where the deceased’s family would like support while attending the inquest

• Injury caused in traffic accidents or on training exercises

• Faulty kit or equipment

• Training exercises

• Injuries caused by insufficient training

• Injuries caused by faulty weapons

It is important to get specialist legal advice if you want to make a military injury claim. Military claims can be complex; there is an inherent level of risk associated with working in the military and to succeed in your claim for compensation, will have to help you establish whether your injury was a result of someone else’s avoidable negligence.

Military Injury Compensation – don’t delay your claim

With personal injury claims, you will usually need to make your claim within three years of the injury (or the diagnosis of the injury if this occurs later). With military injury claims, your claim will often be against the MoD. Our solicitors are used to claiming against the Ministry of Defence and dealing with their insurers.

If you were injured after April 6, 2005, you could be able to take a claim for compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme [AFCS] run by the MoD.

However, if you work in the private sector but are involved in work such as close protection service, the private company you work for, rather than the MoD itself, might be responsible.

Do I have to leave the Military before making a claim?

No – if somebody’s negligence has caused you any injury or illness, you can claim compensation from the Ministry of Defence – whether or not you are currently serving. Furthermore, if you’re still serving in the UK Armed Forces, the fact that you are making a claim should not affect your military career.

Military Injury Compensation – why use us?

Not only are we trained and accredited personal injury specialists, but our offices in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset are on the edge of Salisbury Plain – our team therefore has years of experience in acting for those Armed Forces personnel living in the garrison towns, and also acts for the military throughout the UK and overseas.