Our specialist military injury claims solicitors helped an Army soldier who was bullied and harassed by service personnel to claim compensation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The compensation will replace lost earnings and help him fund training for a new career after leaving the military due to the continued bullying. 

What Happened

Our client, Michael*, signed up to work in the Army in 2014, at the age of 17. He completed his training in 2016 and continued to serve in the Army as a Craftsman.

During the course of his employment, Michael worked in the Workshop on maintenance of vehicles. In 2017 a new member of service personnel joined his unit and this is when the battery, bullying and harassment began.

Michael would often be singled out by this service personnel who would physically and verbally attack him. The service personnel in question was a well-built individual a lot bigger than Michael and would often use this to his advantage by pinning Michael to the floor or getting him in choke hold positions.

Michael and other Craftsman were subjected to “drench showers” as punishment for not doing something correct or answering back.  The drench showers were videoed and shared onto a WhatsApp group. The videos were used as part of Michael’s evidence and disclosed to the MOD.

Matters came to a head when Michael became the subject of torrent abuse including sexual assault and being tasered on more than one occasion.

Michael reported the incidents and this was investigated by the Royal Military Police.  Whilst this was undergoing Michael felt that he could not continue to serve in the unit or any other unit as he was afraid that his paths would cross with the Corporal and was afraid of working with a number of people. It was agreed with his Chain of Command that Michael could voluntary discharge from the military.

Gathering Evidence To Support Michael’s Case

In 2018, Michael contacted our expert military injury solicitor, Carol Purang, to help him claim compensation for the physical and mental abuse suffered. Carol started putting evidence together to show that the Army had failed to protect Michael.

Carol looked through Michael’s medical and Army records, establishing a timeline for when Michael mental health deteriorated. Carol also gathered witness statements from his family and colleagues and spoke to medical and employment experts to give their opinions on what had caused Michael’s mental health deterioration resulting in voluntary discharge.

The employment evidence showed that Michael would have continued in the military but for the incident and it was agreed by both employment experts that any length of service up to 24 years could have been possible.

Carol also sourced evidence from a Consultant Psychiatrist which demonstrated that the MoD’s failure to protect him cause the deterioration in his mental health.

Had the MOD implemented and maintained a safe system of employment for Michael then he would not have suffered psychological injury from the bullying and harassment.

Getting Michael The Compensation He Deserved

Despite the evidence that Carol presented, the MOD denied any responsibility for the actions of the service personnel in question and took no steps to prevent this from happening.

Carol filed to take Michael’s case to court in Spring 2022, which prompted the MoD to negotiate with Carol to settle the case out-of-court instead. Carol’s hard work paid off as she secured a life-changing £350,000 of compensation for Michael.

This compensation will help Michael train for an alternative career and compensate him for the career opportunities he lost from being medically downgraded from a role he loved.

If you work for the military and have suffered bullying or harassment, our military solicitors may be able to help.

*Not actual names used.

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