Tri-Service
Black Former Soldier Sues MoD Over Cold Injuries
A black former British soldier is reportedly suing the Ministry of Defence after saying the Army should have done more to protect him from career-ending hand injuries.
Abdoulie Bojang, who served with the Royal Logistic Corps, is suing the MoD for up to £200,000 after claiming the Army "failed to take into account his ethnicity" in exposing him to freezing temperatures, according to the Sunday Times.
The 30-year-old, who was born in Gambia and lives in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, says he suffered the injuries after being exposed to -30C temperatures whilst on a training exercise in Canada.
Click below to watch 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, conducting live-firing training in sub-zero temperatures...
Mr Bojang, who was medically discharged from the Army last autumn, says his ethnicity made him more vulnerable to the 'non-freezing cold injuries' he suffered during a 2014 ski training session codenamed 'Exercise Frozen Fun'.
The MoD has reportedly been sued by hundreds of black Caribbean and African soldiers in recent years who have suffered injuries from the cold, mostly from Commonwealth countries, with the majority citing 'non-freezing cold injuries'.
They can happen when the body's core temperature remains below its natural level for a prolonged period of time. In the soldier's High Court claim, it says:
"During the afternoon he noticed that his feet were numb as were both of his hands. He made his way to the resort lodge to warm his hands and saw that they had changed colour."
A spokesperson for solicitors Bolt Burdon Kemp said:
"Service personnel of African and Afro-Caribbean descent, including those of mixed race, are particularly vulnerable in low temperatures."
"The MoD has acknowledged research indicating that these groups are 30 times more likely to contract an NFCI (non-freezing cold injury) than Caucasian service personnel."
"Even mild injuries can leave long-term effects such as problems regulating body temperature.
"The damage to a military career and the prolonged pain can even result in depression.
"Many of our clients have problems with day-to-day living because their hands have been affected so that their manual dexterity is reduced.
"Personnel from the Commonwealth will often find that, following a cold injury, they are restricted to working in warm climates. This means they can no longer follow any plans they may have made to make a life in the UK, Europe or North America."
According to a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, at least 450 Commonwealth soldiers have suffered cold injuries in the past 10 years.
Blood flow to hands and feet is reduced when a person's core temperature falls too low, causing blood vessels to constrict.
Even if body tissue doesn't freeze, this can be harmful because of a reduced amount of oxygen being taken to those extremities.
Permanent injury can follow without immediate treatment, due to nerve and blood vessel damage.
Precautionary steps to prevent this type of injury include limiting exposure to the cold, keeping feet and hands as dry as possible, regular intake of hot food and drink, and recognising and treating symptoms early once they start to show.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said:
"When compensation claims are submitted, they are considered on the basis of whether or not the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a legal liability to pay compensation, we do so."
It comes after a parliamentary select committee heard last year that hundreds of service personnel are injured annually because the MoD fails to follow its own safety rules.
The Defence Select Committee heard from lawyers representing injured forces personnel who said the military has failed to learn from past mistakes, resulting in the death and injury of soldiers every year.
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