Armed Forces compensation scheme

Injured personnel who have received an award under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme will receive an increase in their payment, after the MoD doubled the maximum compensation for armed forces personnel injured in service from £285,000 to £570,000.

The boost to payouts is retrospective and will see around £10 million being paid out to 2,700 troops who have been awarded lump-sum payments under the scheme since 2005. This will result in an increase of between 10% and 100% of their award.

For the most seriously injured, this sum comes in addition to a tax-free, index-linked monthly payment for the rest of their life after leaving the armed forces.

A 19-year-old seriously injured soldier could receive more than £1 million over the course of his life under the new system.

Letters are being sent to the 140 most seriously injured with details of their increased compensation payments and they will get their additional money within the next few days. Those less seriously injured will receive their extra compensation over the next few months.

The plan to increase lump-sum payments was announced in July as part of a Service Personnel Command Paper outlining 40 measures to improve the life of servicemen and women, their families and veterans.

Copyright © Press Association 2008

Andrew Tucker, head of law firm Irwin Mitchell's Armed Forces team represented Ben Parkinson and his family in the battle to increase the level of compensation available to injured armed forces personnel. He said: "Following the announcement earlier this year that all injured service personnel will have access to compensation of up to £570,000 we are delighted by the news that this increase will be paid retrospectively. Many families will benefit as a result.

"However, we feel that the overall package offered to the most severely injured soldiers could be improved further still and we will continue to campaign alongside Ben's mum Diane until the long term support and care available has improved."

For more information on claiming visit our Military Compensation page.