Insult to injured soldier
It has been revealed that an injured soldier could be refused his compensation claim payout, after a public appearance left his insurers questioning his claim.
The military personal stated that he had been warned that he could miss out on the £25,000 insurance settlement, because he carried out the Carling Cup at Wembley.
The 20-year-old private, from Manchester, took the trophy on to the pitch in February - nearly two years after he received personal injury whilst in Afghanistan.
He was left temporarily paralysed when he was hit by shrapnel in a friendly fire incident involving an Apache helicopter in July 2008.
As a result, he lost the use of his calves and has severe nerve damage. He now wears a splint to walk, has no use of his left foot and can only move his right foot slightly.
The solider, from Gorton, was told by doctors that it was unlikely that he would be able to walk again but the solider battled back and can now move with the help of a stick.
However, he said that he had been in line to receive an accident claim amount for his wounds but his insurance firm was now reviewing his case after seeing him on television.
The army worker had taken out £56-a-month private cover with the insurance group before being deployed to Afghanistan.
But more than a month after millions of television viewers watched him step out at Wembley, he said the firm contacted his rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey to say it was reviewing his claim for compensation for losing the use of his left foot. The centre contacted his mother, who then relayed the news to him.
Solider fights for justice
Commenting on his wounds, the private from 2 Para said: “My calves don't work, my hips don't work properly, my glutes [buttock muscles] don't work properly - waist down is just messed up basically.”
He spoke of the anger he feels over the claim: “I don't know why they have tried to do it... words cannot express how angry I am.”
He furthered that the group told Headley Court that they were: “not going to pay out because I walked on to the pitch with the Carling Cup unaided,” he explained.
“So some jobsworth somewhere has seen me walk out on to the pitch. He's seen me walk out with the cup without my stick and thought: 'Well, he's lying', which was pretty hard to understand. I'm not lying. My case notes are there.
“I pay the premium and I was the third person to find out about it. I was just really, really angry about what happened,” he stated.
Veterans minister Kevan Jones, said the group faced some questions from the Ministry of Defence (MoD): “Treating a brave and injured serviceman in this way is an absolute disgrace. As a matter of urgency I will be asking the company to explain their crass decision,” said Mr Jones.
The insurance firm said that a manager from the company was looking at his case and was just waiting for medical notes.
Updated on 4/6/2010