(09/09/2009)

Personal Injury - Fighting numerous fronts

A British soldier was at the centre of two major battles today - fighting the Taliban and in a Government court challenge over personal injury compensation for the armed forces.

In Afghanistan, Light Dragoon Anthony Duncan is fighting on the front line. In London, the Ministry of Defence launched an appeal involving his compensation for personal injuries sustained in Iraq.

The 27-year-old corporal was shot in Iraq in 2005 and overcame two years of rehabilitation to ship out in April with his Light Dragoons colleagues to fight in Afghanistan for six months.

It is Cpl Duncans first tour of duty since sustaining severe personal injuries when a bullet ripped through the inside of his left leg, hitting his femur bone and exiting the other side while on foot patrol.

The defence team on the case told the panel in London that awards for personal injuries are made under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Order.

The defence went on to say that the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeal Chamber had made wrong conclusions about the order and the Defence Secretary was now seeking guidance from the court.

The impact of that decision covers the large majority of personal injury cases under the order and is therefore of very great importance to the Secretary of State and to the proper decision-making in many future cases.

It appears that the tribunals approach was contrary to one of the fundamental tenets of the scheme, namely that it focused on actual personal injury and not on disablement.

The case continues...

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