Our specialist military injury claims solicitors helped an Army soldier suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus 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 being medically downgraded due to his injuries.
What Happened To Jack
Our client, Jack*, signed up to work in the Army in 2011, at the age of 17. He completed his training in 2013 and continued to serve in the Army as an Engineer.
During the course of his employment, Jack spent long periods of time on firing ranges, while also taking part in annual weapons tests and combat marksmanship tests. He travelled to many locations attending various firing ranges and training exercises.
When taking part in exercises and attending firing ranges, Jack wore ear defenders but unfortunately experienced some issues with them. The Ministry of Defence supplied ear plugs that didn’t fit comfortably inside the helmets and personal role radio they’d also supplied. This meant that Jack’s ear plugs often became loose, breaking the protective seal and exposing him to more excessive noise from nearby weapons fire.
In 2017, Jack was a high performing soldier so he decided he wanted to join a program to promote and pass out as an Officer at Sandhurst. After having a routine medical hearing check as part of the application process, the audiogram revealed damage to Jack’s hearing.
Despite the Army knowing about Jack’s noise induced hearing loss, they still sent him on training exercises that exposed him to high levels of noise. This continued to damage his hearing and later caused him to suffer from tinnitus.
Jack was diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus which meant he was downgraded to medically non-deployable. This meant he could never be promoted to Major or Lt Col.
Gathering Evidence To Support Jack’s Case
In 2018, Jack contacted our expert military injury solicitor, Carol Purang, to help him claim compensation for the hearing loss he’d suffered. Carol started putting evidence together to show that the Army had failed to give Jack effective ear protection to prevent his hearing loss and tinnitus.
Carol looked through Jack’s medical and Army records, establishing a timeline for when Jack’s hearing loss had started and how it had deteriorated. Carol also gathered witness statements from his colleagues and spoke to medical and employment experts to give their opinions on what had caused Jack’s hearing loss.
The employment evidence showed that Jack was an extremely high performing soldier who would have continued to LE Commission if he hadn’t developed hearing loss and tinnitus.
Carol also sourced evidence from an expert engineer which demonstrated that the MoD had likely exposed Jack to excessive levels of noise resulting in his NIHL and tinnitus.
Getting Jack The Compensation He Deserved
Despite the evidence that Carol presented, the MOD denied any responsibility in exposing Jack to excessive noise.
“Carol filed proceedings at court in the summer of 2021, which prompted the MoD to negotiate to settle the case out-of-court instead. Carol’s hard work paid off as she secured a life-changing £450,000 of compensation for Jack.
This compensation will help Jack train for an alternative career and compensate him for the career opportunities he lost from being medically downgraded from a role he loved.
“Jack lost out on big career opportunities in the Army because of his hearing loss and tinnitus. I’m very happy to have been able to help Jack get enough compensation to help him to make up for the damage caused by his excessive exposure to noise as a young soldier that will go some way to making a difference to Jack’s future”. – Carol Purang, Military Injury Solicitor.
If you’ve suffered significant hearing loss or tinnitus from working in the military, our expert military injury solicitors can help you claim compensation. Call us today on 0370 1500 100 or get in touch online to arrange a call back.
*Not actual names used
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