11/10/2007

Better Deal For Injured Troops

Extra cash is to be made available for the most seriously injured British troops under reforms of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, the government has announced.

Under the new proposals, the lump sum compensation payment for the most seriously injured will be based on the full rate for all their injuries in a single incident, up to the highest lump sum of £285,000. In addition, they will continue to receive the 100% tax-free index-linked Guaranteed Income Payment for life.

Additional benefits would be paid to the most seriously injured troops from April 2005.

Currently, the most seriously injured receive lump sum compensation payments for only the three worst injuries. Compensation is paid at 100% for the first injury, with the second and third injuries being discounted to 30% and 15% respectively, in addition to the Guaranteed Income Payment.

The proposed changes follow the completion of a review into the multiple injury rules of the scheme commissioned by the Under Secretary of State for Defence Derek Twigg.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "Our Armed Forces are unique in making a vital contribution to the security of our nation and we have a responsibility to continue to look after them properly when they get injured.

"These review will benefit those with the most serious multiple injuries - and they will be compensated for all their injuries up to the full £285,000 lump sum payment."

(KMcA)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

28 October 2005
Westminster tops road accident table
More people are killed or seriously injured on roads in Westminster than anywhere else in England, according to a new report. The study, by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, found that for every 100,000 people in the London borough, 176 were killed or seriously injured in road accidents in 2003/4, while 1,114 people suffered slight injuries.
29 May 2015
Man Dies And 4-Year-Old Seriously Injured In Cornwall
An investigation has been launched into an incident in Cornwall in which a man died and a four-year-old girl was seriously injured. Emergency services were called to a house in Whitecross, near Fowey, at about 11:45 on Thursday, 28 May, following a report of concern for the welfare of two people.
30 June 2014
Child Riding Motorbike Injured In Crash
A 12-year-old boy riding a motorbike with a three-year-old passenger has been seriously injured in an accident in Bridlington. The child was not wearing a helmet at the time of the incident and sustained serious head injuries as well as multiple fractures to his body.
30 June 2008
Toddler Injured In Motorbike Collision
A toddler has been seriously injured in a collision involving two motorbikes in north Nottinghamshire. It is understood that the three-year-old boy was on the handlebars of one of the bikes when the collision occurred on grassland at the bottom of Mary Street in Rhodesia on Saturday at approximately 3pm.
27 February 2004
Poorly fitted child car seats costs dozens of lives a year: report
Around two thirds of all child seats are fitted incorrectly and basic mistakes by adults when fitting child seats can kill and injure hundreds of children a year, even in low speed crashes, a report by the AA Motoring Trust has claimed.