Army
Royal Marine Could Be In Line For Up To £8M Damages
A Royal Marine, who won his damages battle against the Ministry of Defence after contracting Q Fever in Afghanistan, could be in line for a multi-million pound payout.
The damages, which will be assessed at a later date, were estimated to be in the order of £6 - £8 million by a High Court judge.
Mrs Justice Andrews ruled that the MoD has run out of time to submit its defence to claims that it didn't do enough to prevent Philip Eaglesham catching the disease.
The Corporal, who now uses a wheelchair, was with 40 Commando on tour in 2010.
Mrs Justice Andrews refused a Ministry of Defence request to have more time to submit documents.
"Even though this was not a case of a deliberate flouting of a court order it is not an appropriate case in which to grant the Defendant any further indulgence."- Mrs Justice Andrews
It means that 35-year-old Corporal Eagelsham, who has very serious chronic fatigue syndrome - a well-known consequence of Q fever - has won.
He has gone on to compete in target shooting for Ireland at the Paralympics in Rio.
In July this year, the High Court ordered the MoD to comply with an order for disclosure of certain documents by October 21st, or its defence would be struck out.
And on Thursday, Mrs Justice Andrews refused to grant the MoD an extension of time to comply.
The MoD had said the delay was not deliberate, as it found more documents than first thought.
It also claims that national security and a shortage of resources are to blame. An MoD spokesman said:
"We are studying the judgment and it would be inappropriate to comment further."
This is the first of four such cases relating to Q Fever.
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