Human Rights Test Case Against MoD Hailed as Landmark [17th Jun 2013]
The Supreme Court's decision to allow compensation claims against the Ministry of Defence for soldier deaths caused by poor equipment or negligence, is being hailed as a "Landmark" ruling. For the majority of the UK's time in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been documentaries and news pieces about the lack of equipment and poor care provided to the soldiers fighting in various parts of the world. This test case centred around the MoD's duty to uphold the European Convention of Human Rights (another hot button topic in recent weeks). This would mean that despite the inherent dangers of a soldier's job description, soldiers still had a "right to life" and any failure on the part of the Ministry of Defence to protect that life could result in a claim for compensation. The test case was brought by Sue Smith whose son Private Phillip Hewett, 21, was killed in Iraq with two fellow soldiers from the Staffordshire Regiment's 1st Battalion, after a roadside bomb destroyed their Snatch Land Rover back in July of 2005. The Snatch Land Rover was alleged to be so vulnerable to bombs that it had earned the nickname "the mobile coffin", and was eventually withdrawn from combat operations. Related Stories: Landmark ruling for military families - www.telegraph.co.uk UK defense ministry loses legal challenge - edition.cnn.com Soldiers have the right to life even in war zones - www.independent.co.uk Whenever you see a news article about pothole compensation, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a copy or a repeat of previous articles. Sadly, the pothole problem simply is that huge, and councils still prefer to pay out compensation rather than fix the roads. The recent announcement of Cambridgeshire Council's £1.6million pothole compensation bill, is quite a headline grabber though. Since 2008, the council has received over 1000 claims for compensation in relation to car damage caused by potholes. The council were quick to state that the compensation comes from their insurance provisions, and not directly from their road maintenance budget - which is expected to be £90million over the next five years. A series of harsh winters were blamed, but Councillor Rob Dryden (himself a pothole victim) still called for more people to claim where they have had to pay out for repairs. He said "if all the people that have damaged their vehicles did bother to claim the council might then think it would be cheaper for them to keep our roads in good condition, but then again it’s us taxpayers that have to foot the bill." Related Stories: Council criticised after pothole compensation bill in Cambridgeshire hits £1.6 million - www.cambridge-news.co.uk Despite millions being spent on financial compensation awareness, it seems that the message is still not getting through. With all the adverts, text and emails trying to get people to claim compensation for financial problems - it is surprising to learn that a third of people in the UK that invest money, are unaware of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Over the past few years, more than £7million has been spent raising the profile of the FSCS. Yet less than have the adults in the UK have even heard of it. Related Stories: A third of investors unfamiliar with FSCS - www.ifaonline.co.uk Of course, awareness of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme doesn't guarantee anything. Yesterday the FSCS lost an appeal against paying out £100,000 in compensation to a victim of bad mortgage advice. The case was slightly complex in that it involved advice that had been given relating to overseas investments into Spanish Land - which collapsed. Originally the victim, Ms Emptage, was only awarded £12,000. The high court increased the figure and the FSCS lost its appeal against paying such. Related Stories: Court rejects FSCS appeal against mortgage advice payout - www.ftadviser.com  |
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