army pension claim ?

percycat

Hi,

My o/h put in a claim for a military pension several months ago, on the grounds he sustained a serious arm injury while serving, this was made worse by the fact that he never received the correct medical treatment at the time, After years of pain and operations to try and correct things, his consultant told him he was most likely going to lose the use of his arm, and in his opinion it was caused by medical negligence at the time of the accident, further compounded by the fact, the army prison would not put him on light duties, (as they could not find any medical records!!!) so he put in a claim for an army pension.. he had a medical at home, and after months of waiting, he finally received a letter to say he was not entitled to any pension, but they will offer him a gratuity payment of 6k! (he has had an above the elbow amputation on his other arm, so if he loses the use of this one, you can imagine the distress!)

He has not agreed to accept this money, and was in fact going to appeal, but then he discovered that the money was already paid into his bank account!!!! Is this normal practice? ..and is it worth appealing, tbh a more regular pension would be a lot better than 6k especially is he has to give up work! I can't understand how they have also come to the conclusion "it may or may not get better' ... on the specialists paperwork, it definitely states it will only get worst!!! not a single mention of it getting better ..

Is it worth appealing or is it better to gratefully accept the 6,000 and say thankyou?

thanks x

montymud

APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL. Yes it is normal for the payment to go in, then once the appeal is done they will take into account that this gratuity has already been paid and work it out from there x

percycat

ah thankyou for the reply, we had no idea what to expect, but 6k for the loss of use for an arm seems awful to me, especially as it should and could of been treated properly at the time, .. i hope i can get my o/h to appeal. thanks for the encouragement. xx

montymud

The decision is absaloutely wrong and he definately should appeal. They should not be allowed to get away with this type of ludicrous decision.

s1lv3rdal5

OP.
Try your local Royal British Legion, they know exactly how to fill the forms in, and are happy to help.

percycat

thankyou .. we will go to see the british legion, and hopefully they can help xx

peteuk

Sorry to be a pest but can i ask a few questions...it might help other provide more advice.

His injury to his arm was whilst serving.....was he actively serving at the time or did he do it outside of work, but whilst serving.

Why was his other arm amputated, I assume this was after the injury to the other.

Finally when did he serve and when was the injury.

I am sorry if this upset you and the questions are not ment to do that, but it would help gain a better understanding of the problem and these should be simple questions the Legion ask you anyway.

Good luck with the appeal!

Pete

percycat

hi Pete,

my o/h was serving at the time, it was a parachute accident, he was taken to the military hospital, where it was never treated correctly, (if it had of been, none of the problems afterwards would of occurred, ..according to his specialist) it was made far worse when he was taken to military jail (d&d) and the guards claimed they could find no medical records so they never gave him light duties!! (i do hope they found it hilarious!!) and his other arm was completely paralyzed after a moterbike accident .. he later had to have this amputated. The parachute accident happened in 1980, he has been in pain with it ever since, but up until he had a mri scan, it was never said that it was because of medical negligence, his specialist is quite happy to point the finger ..hence his claim ..

hope that helps to fill in the blanks, it is quite stressful the thought of losing the mobility of this arm!!

thanks xx

herewegoagain2010

How long did he have to serve for the d&d and did they discharge hi after his sentance or did he go back to normal duties? I think I'd definately appeal as it does sound low and if you can prove negligence you'll have a strong case. You might not get the pension as i think there is a time limit on claiming. However, if he was on active duty, then I thik he's got a great chance of get a war pension as the injury was on duty. Good luck and keep fighting!

GlynD

What's critical here is whether he was serving before Options For Change came in. AFAIK that was 2000. Serving before then he would be entitled to a War Pension for disability. Serving after that I believe only entitles the soldier to a lump sum.

As others have said though - APPEAL. Do not delay, because the Service Personnel & Veterans agency usually turn down most cases. It's also essential you have guidance from either his Regimental Association (which I assume is the Parachute Regiment) plus the British Legion Pensions office.

Act now and ensure continuity in the claim. If he goes off on his own and loses he'll have to make a new claim but if he is successful in this one his pension will be backdated to the date of this claim.

I am a War Pensioner btw and have a lot of experience with SPVA and claims.

montymud

It's April 2005 I believe when it came in. Anyone before 2005 is on the War pension and anyone after is on the new pension.

https://www.gov.uk/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans