MY ARMY BATTLE

Ex-soldier in compo bid after being drummed out of forces

A FORMER soldier is set to launch a legal battle against the MoD after he was wrongly discharged from the Army.

Ex-corporal Morgan Gilbert was axed after a mystery illness was misdiagnosed.

The 34-year-old, of Kirriemuir, Angus, was binned from the Royal Corps of Signals in 2015 after suffering excruciating pain in his hands and feet when he rewarmed them.

He was diagnosed with Raynaud’s disease – which affects blood supply – and wasn’t allowed to do a sergeant’s course.

But his symptoms persisted and it wasn’t until 2015 that he was correctly diagnosed with a non-freezing cold injury.

Only then did Morgan, who served from 1999 until 2015, begin to get the correct treatment.

After his discharge and failure of the initial treatment, Morgan hired military injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to take on his case and he’s seeking compensation for a career cut short.

Last night, Morgan said his symptoms developed during a gruelling tour of Afghanistan.

A medical officer and rheumatologist diagnosed Raynaud’s disease despite tests coming back as negative.

Morgan said: “While serving in Afghanistan, I didn’t expect it to be a holiday but I expected I’d be looked after by the MoD.

“I was working in extreme cold throughout my six-month tour without any heating or respite from the cold. The only warmth I got was from my sleeping bag.

“I never expected the issues I was facing would leave me with any long-term problems.

“This condition has had a huge impact on my life and I deserve to know whether more should or could have been done to correctly diagnose me. It’s unthinkable that service personnel would be let down like I’ve been despite the Army being well aware of such conditions since World War I.”

He added: “It was incredibly frustrating when I found out I had been misdiagnosed for two years. If it wasn’t for Irwin Mitchell, and their work looking into my illness, I may never have been correctly diagnosed.”

Lawyer Alexander Davenport said: “Non-freezing cold injuries can have a very serious impact on victims. Quick and accurate diagnosis of them is incredibly important.

“We are determined to ensure our client gets justice and support as he copes with the impact of this permanent condition.”