Cavalryman left blind by bungee cord sues for £¾m
A HouSeHolD Cavalryman whose 15-year career ended after he was blinded in one eye while pitching a tent is suing the Ministry of Defence for £700,000.
Simon Harley, 36, was struck by a bungee cord hook while making a shelter during training.
He claims his loss of sight meant he could no longer fire a weapon in combat and led to his discharge from the Army a year later.
The former lance corporal is seeking ‘just shy of £700,000’ for the effects of his injuries, claiming the incident was caused by the negligence of his comrades or superiors.
The MoD denies liability, alleging that Mr Harley may have been at fault. It also questions the extent of the damage to his eye.
Central london County Court was told that the incident took place during military exercises on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Mr
Harley and his comrades had to create a makeshift tent for the night, consisting of a waterproof sheet or poncho covering a trench and secured with bungee cords.
In court papers, his lawyers said: ‘He crawled into the shell scrape [shallow trench] and as he adjusted the height of the poncho, the tent peg came out of the ground, the bungee sprang back and he was immediately struck in the eye by the metal hook on the end of the bungee.’ They said the blow led to blood loss, a broken nose and damage to his optic nerve – costing him 75 per cent of the vision in his right eye.
The injury was said to have caused his discharge in March 2016 from the Household Cavalry, which guards the Queen. Mr Harley, who lives in Bordon in Hampshire, says the damage puts extra strain on his left eye, causing headaches, fatigue and problems with long-distance driving.
But the MoD suggests Mr Harley may himself have been at fault in failing to ensure the tent peg was properly fixed before adjusting the poncho.
During the pre-trial hearing on Monday, Andrew Ward, for the MoD, told judge David Saunders: ‘It is not disputed that when this bungee cord which was attached to a tent recoiled, it hit him in the face and injured his right eye.’
But he cited a report by a medical expert who suggested there had been a ‘dramatic improvement in his vision’ since the accident in February 2015. This, the MoD says, ‘puts into doubt either the causal nexus or the genuineness of the symptoms’. The case will return for trial at a later date.