Mother Of Wounded Parartrooper Says Mod Reforms To Compensation Do Not Go Far Enough

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)

08/02/2008

The mother of severely injured paratrooper Lance Corporal Ben Parkinson has said that the changes by the Government to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS), which come into force today, still do not go far enough to enable injured soldiers to lead a normal life.

Lance Corporal Ben Parkinson is considered the most severely injured surviving soldier from the war in Afghanistan. His mother Diane Dernie today repeated her assertion that the changes to the scheme do not go far enough as they still have a 'ceiling' of £285,000 regardless of the needs of severely injured service personnel returning from the front line.

Mrs Dernie dismissed claims by the MoD that the Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP), plus the lump sum payment of £285,000 under the scheme, is sufficient compensation for those soldiers who have suffered severe multiple injuries.

Mrs Dernie said: "The GIP is there to provide for the day to day basic needs someone like Ben has such as heating, lighting and food. It does not cover the lump sum needed up-front to purchase and adapt a house and pay for other items such as mobility aids and care. The compensation package awarded by the MoD for injured Service personnel does not reflect the sacrifice our troops have made when fighting for their country."

Ben's lawyer Andrew Buckham, a member of the Armed Forces Claims Unit at Irwin Mitchell called for the maximum amount payable to soldiers to be raised and for the long terms care needs of severely injured members of the Armed Forces to be taken into account when calculating the compensation package under the AFCS.

Mr Buckham said: "Any compensation paid to severely injured service personnel must be adequate to pay for their extensive needs, this includes housing, mobility and often, as in Ben's case, 24hr care for the rest of his life. There are injured soldiers returning from Operational tours who have sustained serious head and spinal injuries. For the purposes of the AFCS these Servicemen maybe assessed as only having one injury and therefore despite their long term care needs they may not receive the maximum award under the scheme."

"Taking all these factors into consideration we believe that £285,000 is far too low an award to enable soldiers such as Ben to have an independent and dignified life."

The AFCS was brought in by the Government in 2005 to fast track claims by military personnel. The scheme originally only considered the 3 'worst' injuries which are then assessed financially on a set tariff. The maximum lump sum payment under the AFCS is £285,000.