A former Army bomb disposal expert who suffered a breakdown after years of traumatic service has reached a six-figure compensation settlement with the Ministry of Defence, his lawyers have confirmed.
The Oxfordshire man, who cannot be named for security reasons, served in the Gulf War, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, defusing bombs and dealing with terrorist attack aftermaths. He said his condition might have been prevented if the MoD had addressed it sooner.
His solicitor, Claire Roantree, said the case highlighted the MoD's 'continuing duty of supervision' over personnel showing signs of PTSD. The MoD stated the settlement was reached 'to the satisfaction of all concerned'.
The veteran underwent psychometric testing in 1998 and 1999 and was cleared for duty by a senior Army psychiatrist, despite having been asked to appear in a training video about PTSD. He was only formally diagnosed in June 2004 after a civilian consultant psychiatrist assessed him. Two weeks later, a car accident worsened his symptoms, leading to medical discharge.
His legal team argued that the MoD's failure to diagnose and treat him in the late 1990s left him vulnerable. The case was settled out of court with liability split 40% to the MoD and 60% to the car accident insurers.
The MoD said it was always looking to improve mental health care for forces personnel, with the defence secretary focusing on pressures faced by explosive ordnance disposal operators. Ms Roantree added: 'PTSD is unfortunately still a taboo subject in the Army.'
