Compensation Claims Against MOD Rise By 27%

Compensation claims against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) have risen by more than a quarter on last year.

The MOD paid out around £131 million for settlements and "associated costs" during the 2018/19 financial year.

The figures were revealed in a report published by the MOD on Friday.

It showed the number of claims brought against the MOD was 4,783 - a 27.4% increase on the year before and the highest since 2015/16.

The highest compensation fee was worth around £3.3 million for a road traffic accident and "clinical negligence injury", the report found.

However, the most common claim brought forward was noise-induced hearing loss by service personnel (1,810).  

In May, a lawyer of a former Royal Marine, who received more than £500,000 in damages from the MOD for noise-induced hearing loss, said he had more than 2,200 similar cases.

Property or vehicle damage, under public liability claims, was the second most common type of claim  (1,064).

Other claims brought forward included complaints over the low-flying of aircraft, asbestos and personal injury.

Despite a rise in the number of claims issued against the MOD, the number that was settled actually fell to 2,720.

Around 40% of the claims settled (1,137) were employer's liability claims by serving personnel which cost the MOD £86.3 million.

A total of 757 public liability claims, of which 585 were third party motor claims, were settled and cost the MOD just under £17.6 million.

Meanwhile, 256 civilian employer's liability claims and 24 clinical negligence claims were also settled. 

The figures released in the report did not include compensation awarded under the MOD's no-fault schemes.

Cover Image: The Ministry of Defence building in Whitehall (Picture: PA).