The Irwin Mitchell Armed Forces Claim’s Team secured a sum of £780,000 in armed forces compensation for one of our clients who was involved in an incident whilst engaged on military service in Iraq in March 2003. He was responsible for a stock take of ammunition and during the course of dealing with his duties, he sustained crush injuries to his left foot when a reversing DROPS vehicle impacted with him.
Our client sustained significant crush injuries to his left foot, namely an open dislocation of the left foot with multiple fractures of the second – fifth metatarsal. His injuries required wound debridement, K Wiring and has undergone two skin grafts from his left thigh.
Following discharge from hospital, physiotherapy was commenced. His progress was however severely limited by pain, restricted mobility and restricted weight bearing. At the time of his discharge from physiotherapy in January 2004, he was only able to walk 200m with two elbow crutches due to pain and despite orthotics being provided to help him to gain better foot positioning.
He initially was able to return to work in an administrative capacity but found mobilising around camp extremely difficult and was subsequently signed off work permanently.
The money awarded is a reflection of the pain caused by the military injuries sustained due to the lack of safety precautions put into place by the MoD. It also reflects the restriction that the injury has put on our client in relation to his future employment prospects.