M O D PAYOUTS HIT £107 M IN MENTAL HEALTH EPIDEMIC
Iraq hero raps defence chiefs
TROOPS suffering from mental health issues have received more than £107million in compensation.
Many sued after medics failed to diagnose or treat their PTSD.
One veteran whose case goes to court next month said: “The Ministry of Defence talks about a duty of care but for people like me and hundreds of others there wasn’t any.”
Official figures show the Ministry of Defence paid out more than £10million to just 10 people between 2007 and last year. The largest award of £2.4million was to a soldier who developed PTSD in Iraq.
A further £90million has been paid out under the armed forces compensation scheme to over 3,700 with mental health issues.
Ex-staff sergeant Trevor Coult, 45, from Suffolk, won the Military Cross with the Royal Irish Regiment in Iraq but is fighting for compensation since suffering PTSD. He said: “My case against the MOD begins in the High Court next month. It has taken me five years to get this far. The MOD lost my medical records and I’m not the only one.
“One day I had a breakdown and that was the end of my career after five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan two soldiers were killed either side of me and I was covered in their blood. I still have nightmares.
“I was just expected to put it behind me and carry on. But there comes a point when you can no longer cope.”
We are campaigning for an overhaul of how the MOD tackles mental health issues.
The MOD said: “We take all PTSD claims seriously and evaluate each claim based on whether the MOD has a legal liability to pay compensation.
“We are committed to learning lessons and improving the safety of our personnel.”