Our military injury solicitors in Southampton successfully secured a settlement of over £100,000 for an Air Force technician injured while servicing a new machine.
John* worked as an Air Engineering Technician for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As part of his duties, he needed to do a three month service on a mangler (a machine used to press sheets and other large pieces of laundry).
John needed to lift, remove, and rotate six batteries each weighing about 145 pounds. The batteries were under a bonnet which only opened to 45 degrees, making it very difficult to lift them out. While trying to get a battery out, John felt his lower back twinge but didn’t think anything of it at the time.
A few days later, John woke up with a lot of pain in his lower back. He realised his back was locked and no position would ease the pain.
John went through a three week intensive spinal rehabilitation course which was extremely painful. He also started suffering from insomnia because of the pain which led to depression and anxiety. To help with his anxiety symptoms, he received Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and psycho education (counselling to help him cope with mental health issues).
John contacted our armed forces solicitors to see if we could help him make a claim from the MoD. The MoD wouldn’t admit responsibility and said John received the right training to carry out the mangler service. Our team negotiated and got the MoD to admit their responsibility for John’s injury.
John was awarded over £100,000 as compensation. This amount helped him continue the pain management courses and therapies he needed to recover. It also gave him and his family peace of mind that they wouldn’t have to worry about finances while John recovered.
“[John’s] pain is so severe that it’s affected his day-to-day activities, career prospects and family life.
We’re happy we could help him get the financial security he needs continue his treatment to make a full recovery.” – Irwin Mitchell Solicitor
If you or a loved one has suffered from an accident while in the military, we could help. Contact our lawyers today on 0370 1500 100 or send us an email.
*Not his real name.
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