Revealed: Military chiefs compelled to pay out £160m in compensation
- At least 1,700 awarded a portion of a £9.5million underneath compensation scheme
Military chiefs have been compelled to pay out £160million in compensation to troops who’ve complained about having chilly ft, it emerged yesterday.
Thousands have sued the Ministry of Defence for negligence over claims they didn’t obtain correct coaching to care for his or her ft in chilly climate.
The negligence claims embody instances of trench foot from troops who say their careers had been successfully ended by the situation or related issues.
Some 2,000 instances between 2012 and 2023 led to payouts totalling £150million, in response to a Freedom of Information request by The Sun on Sunday.
Separately, not less than 1,700 had been awarded a portion of a £9.5million sum underneath the Armed Forces compensation scheme.
The negligence claims embody instances of trench foot from troops who say their careers had been successfully ended by the situation or related issues
Thousands have sued the Ministry of Defence for negligence over claims they didn’t obtain correct coaching to care for his or her ft in chilly climate
The figures embody hundreds of thousands paid to attorneys in authorized charges for pursuing the instances. The potential for giant payouts has led to some incidents of circumstances being faked or exaggerated.
Last 12 months a former soldier tried to sue for £1.5million after being medically discharged following a chilly harm, however dropped his declare after he was caught on video strolling usually.
The former soldier was ordered to pay £70,000 to cowl the MoD’s authorized charges.
He had claimed he was super-sensitive to the chilly and mentioned cool temperatures resulted in nerve injury to his fingers and ft, leaving him unable to stroll with out an assist.
MoD investigators secretly filmed him in September 2021 strolling with no stick or limp and he dropped his case.
The MoD mentioned though he had suffered trench foot, it had recovered and he had been ‘deliberately malingering’ to assert compensation.
Colonel Phil Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer, mentioned the payouts had been ‘a huge waste of taxpayers’ cash’, and the results of a failure in management.
An MoD spokesman mentioned: ‘We are committed to ensuring that our people are well-trained and equipped to minimise the risk of injury.
‘Where illnesses and injuries caused by service do occur, former and serving personnel receive the compensation they are entitled to.’
