Many of our military cases and especially our medical negligence cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case, we'll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI), this may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household or car insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.
If we think you're best supported by a No Win No Fee* agreement, we'll explain the process clearly. You'll only have to pay anything if your claim is successful – your opponent will pay most of our fees, with the remaining costs coming out of your compensation settlement.
Please visit our No Win No Fee page for more information on how it works.
How much compensation you receive after a medical negligence following a military accident or illness will depend on a few factors related to your condition, its circumstances, and the support and rehabilitation you need.
When calculating your compensation, we'll take the following things into account:
- Your age, rank and specialism
- The pain and suffering caused by your injury or illness
- Loss of your service earnings caused by delayed promotion or medical discharge
- Loss of any civilian earnings
- Loss of pension contributions / resettlement grant
- Loss of a commitment bonus
- Loss of specialist pay and allowances
- Loss of service benefits including loss of subsidised quarters and Learning Credits
- Your care and support needs – both now and in the future
- Modifications to your home
- Mobility aids
Any settlement is paid by the Ministry of Defence, out of a specific budget set aside for these situations. It doesn't come out of your unit’s budget, and it doesn’t come out of the budget which pays for kit, equipment and other resources.
For more information, call us on 0800 022 3321 and we'll be happy to discuss your options in a free initial consultation.
No. The MoD understands that they ask service personnel to do a difficult job in dangerous situations – and unfortunately accidents do happen. They recognise and respect the individual's right to bring a legal claim for injuries. Claiming won't affect your entitlement to a pension, either.
A case of medical negligence can often lead to life limiting conditions which may prevent you from serving in the armed forces. In this instance it is important that you get the right compensation to help transition out of the military and get the right help after your medical accident.
The Ministry of Defence should not discriminate against personnel who bring compensation claims after an injury. If you're planning on continuing your service career after your claim, then there are very strict rules about discriminating against someone on this basis.
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) is a government scheme that provides compensation for injury, illness and death caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. It also applies to cases of medical negligence where military personal were responsible for your medical care, however the levels of compensation may not be sufficient to support any care and rehabilitation requirements.
Unlike a legal claim, the AFCS does not require you to establish that anybody else was at fault. This means that you could be able to claim under the AFCS in circumstances where there is no legal claim.
However, the AFCS is a tariff based system – it does not look at the way your injury will affect you as an individual, or what financial losses you will actually incur. For this reason legal claims made through the courts will almost always result in significantly more compensation than claims made through the AFCS.
It's accepted that members of the armed forces have no choice where they're deployed, or in the activities they're required to undertake. This means that compensation could be paid from the scheme for injuries caused in a number of ways, including those that occur during:
- Operations
- Training
- Service-approved sports
- Exercise to maintain military fitness
Both regular and reserve forces can apply for compensation through the AFCS, whether you're still serving or a veteran.
Compensation is paid as a lump sum on a tariff-based system determined by the severity of your injuries, and can range from a minimum of £1,200 to a maximum award of £570,000. You could claim through the AFCS as well as claiming through the courts.
You can find out more about the AFCS here, or alternatively you can contact our solicitors on 0800 022 3321 for a free consultation if you have any specific questions.
Our military injury team have been helping service men and women claim against the MoD since 1987. The team includes several former military personnel, and includes:
- Simon Harrington, who has over 15 years of experience bringing claims against the MoD. Simon specialises in cold injury claims, having helped hundreds of service personnel to claim over £10 million in compensation for their injuries.
- Andrew Buckham, who served in the Army for seven years before joining Irwin Mitchell. Andrew specialises in claims relating to serious and fatal injuries. He is also a trustee for the Defence Medical Welfare Service
- Amanda Marsh, who has over 20 years experience acting for clients with serious personal injuries. Amanda has 'encyclopedic knowledge of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.' (Legal 500)
Meet our military injury team.
