£620,000 compensation for ex soldier's stress
Discussion
A good friend of mine suffered (and still suffers) from Post Traumatic Stress following his time in the army and Bosnia in particular. He has had to fight tooth and nail just to get his army pension, despite suffering breakdowns and panic attacks, even now 9 years after leaving.
He actually shot himself in the foot in order to get taken off active duty in Bosnia as it was getting that bad for him. Headsheds in the Army refused to take his illness seriously and refer him to specialists for treatment hence he believed this was the only way out for him.
Having seen him go through this I can fully understand how this particular ex-soldier felt he had to go through the courts to make the Army take him seriously. Whilst I personally believe the payout to be excessive, if it makes the Army take these cases more seriously then it can only be a good thing.
He actually shot himself in the foot in order to get taken off active duty in Bosnia as it was getting that bad for him. Headsheds in the Army refused to take his illness seriously and refer him to specialists for treatment hence he believed this was the only way out for him.
Having seen him go through this I can fully understand how this particular ex-soldier felt he had to go through the courts to make the Army take him seriously. Whilst I personally believe the payout to be excessive, if it makes the Army take these cases more seriously then it can only be a good thing.
JagLover said:
... public money they can hand out to any hard luck case that comes along.
I don't think PTSD is a "hard luck case"...
I know people that have served in the forces and done several nasty tours - Northern Ireland and the Gulf included. It's not exactly funny when a door slams and the poor guy jumps...
Just remember, these people served us and their country.
It's notcompensation for PTSD, they're not gettign money because they saw bombings and shootings - which ffs a member of HM Forces should expect - it's because the Army failed to refer these soldiers for medical appraisal. That wasn't clever, it was a mistake, and now the taxpayer is paying the price for senior rank incompetence.
Podie said:
JagLover said:
... public money they can hand out to any hard luck case that comes along.
I don't think PTSD is a "hard luck case"...
I know people that have served in the forces and done several nasty tours - Northern Ireland and the Gulf included. It's not exactly funny when a door slams and the poor guy jumps...
Just remember, these people served us and their country.
Exactly, I know theres people who say thats what being a soldier is all about and if you can't hack the job you shouldn't be there but the Army (back then, not sure about now) were very reluctant to offer any form of counselling or stress management to help soldiers through their trauma.
At the end of the day even soldiers are only human and as such can't be expected to act like robots without any suffering or flashbacks.
Edited to add;
Turbobloke has hit the nail on the head!!! Soldiers know what they signed up for, but what they expect is for the Army (their employers) to be there for them when they need help, NOT to abandon them.
>> Edited by zippee on Friday 29th July 13:56
Having gone through this with friends and loved ones I think that to refer to this as a "hard luck case" is a little insensitive to say the least. There have been some cases of really shoddy treatment of serving personnel in both the armed forces and the civilian services with respect to PTSD over the years. IMHO it is getting better, however there is still a long way to go before these people who have gone through some pretty severe s**t get the proper care/ counselling that they totally deserve.
zippee said:
Edited to add;
Turbobloke has hit the nail on the head!!! Soldiers know what they signed up for, but what they expect is for the Army (their employers) to be there for them when they need help, NOT to abandon them.
>> Edited by zippee on Friday 29th July 13:56
What people THINK they can deal with, and what they can ACTUALLY deal with are two very different things...
Podie said:
... public money they can hand out to any hard luck case that comes along.
I don't think PTSD is a "hard luck case"...
I know people that have served in the forces and done several nasty tours - Northern Ireland and the Gulf included. It's not exactly funny when a door slams and the poor guy jumps...
Just remember, these people served us and their country.
They signed on to the Army with the understanding they might see some action.
I respect the people who serve in our armed forces, perhaps they deserve more money, that is another issue.
What I do know is that this person has turned up a court with his hard luck story and received his own lottery win in compensation.
imccar said:
Having gone through this with friends and loved ones I think that to refer to this as a "hard luck case" is a little insensitive to say the least. There have been some cases of really shoddy treatment of serving personnel in both the armed forces and the civilian services with respect to PTSD over the years.
Post truamatic stress disorder is, for the most part, simply enough invention of lawyers jumping onto the gravy train.
If is surprising our grandparents generation, who had to fight a world war, were able to function at all given all the stress and trauma they had to face.
jaglover said:
Post truamatic stress disorder is, for the most part, simply enough invention of lawyers jumping onto the gravy train.
It's this sort of ignorance of the facts that has left so many ex-servicemen (and women) so f**ked-up... including a lot of our "grandparent generation".... ever heard of the white feathers... sent anonymously to so-called cowards.... not to mention shell-shock....
>> Edited by imccar on Friday 29th July 14:25
JagLover said:
Post truamatic stress disorder is, for the most part, simply enough invention of lawyers jumping onto the gravy train.
If is surprising our grandparents generation, who had to fight a world war, were able to function at all given all the stress and trauma they had to face.
You obviously have never met anyone who suffers from this. If you had, then you would not say it is a fabrication.
It did exist previously, it just wasn't recognised in the way it is now. Often it was referred to as shell shock, or combat fatigue.
My uncle did two tours of duty in Northern Ireland in the seventies. Second time he was out there he was shot and then blown up by a booby trap. Now, he just shrugs and says the risk was part of the job.
Having said that though, yes - it's what he signed up for, but the Army has a duty of care to look after you if shit happens, and that includes mental as well as physical problems.
Having said that though, yes - it's what he signed up for, but the Army has a duty of care to look after you if shit happens, and that includes mental as well as physical problems.
its not about the money.l its about force protection. think about it......
my mate has seen some scary things. he's survived an IED attack, and is understandably a bit touchy. he jumps when a door slams/car backfires etc.
can i be sure that this guy is gonna do his job (ie stop me getting shot) without wigging out. can i trust him with my life, as he trusts me with his?...
thats the question. if the answer is yes, i can trust him, then jolly good, i probably wont die today.
if the answers no, then for my sake, get him out of the forces, and sort him out.
not asking the question is simply in-excusable, and this may be a case of the forces going 'la la la,l cant hear you'
my mate has seen some scary things. he's survived an IED attack, and is understandably a bit touchy. he jumps when a door slams/car backfires etc.
can i be sure that this guy is gonna do his job (ie stop me getting shot) without wigging out. can i trust him with my life, as he trusts me with his?...
thats the question. if the answer is yes, i can trust him, then jolly good, i probably wont die today.
if the answers no, then for my sake, get him out of the forces, and sort him out.
not asking the question is simply in-excusable, and this may be a case of the forces going 'la la la,l cant hear you'
imccar said:
It's this sort of ignorance of the facts that has left so many ex-servicemen (and women) so f**ked-up... including a lot of our "grandparent generation".... ever heard of the white feathers... sent anonymously to so-called cowards.... not to mention shell-shock....
I have alot of sympathy for the conscript soldiers of the world wars, who unlike the man in this case, did not volunteer to face this kind of danger.
I am also well aware of the terms 'shell shock' and 'combat fatigue'. However the fact remains that, in those more emotionally repressed times, after the war people got on with their lifes, after facing far worse peril than was faced by individuals climbing on the gravy train now.
>> Edited by JagLover on Friday 29th July 14:45
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