Here we ask a few questions of Andrew Buckham who, with his colleague Zoe Sutton, leads our specialist Armed Forces Team.
What first got you interested in working to help and advice injured members of the Armed Forces?
I served in the Army for 7 years before I joined the Irwin Mitchell Armed Forces Team and wanted to give something back to the military community. The team works along side a 
number of the military charities and welfare teams and its very rewarding to help and advise injured service personnel and their families. There is a genuine passion and belief within our team that injured service personnel deserve the very best medical care and rehabilitation as well as receiving support and compensation that reflects the sacrifice made by our Armed Forces.
What are the facilities available for service personnel in the Armed Forces who have suffered a serious head or brain injury?
Service personnel who have sustained a head injury while on operations are flown back the operational theatre and treated at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. Rehabilitation is then under taken at the Peter Long Unit at Headley Court. From there injured personnel are sometimes transferred to BIRT units in their local areas or discharged to their local health services.
Where can an injured person or their family get more help and support?
Although there is no specific military brain injury charity that assists members of the of the Armed Forces help is available military charities such as SSAFA, but these do not claim to have specialist brain injury experience. There are charities like Headway that can provide support and information for brain injury, but likewise they do not have a specific military brain injury interest group.
When can an injured service personnel claim for extra financial compensation?
Whether you are injured on or off duty, if you have sustained a head injury it is always worth seeking specialist legal advice in relation to compensation. Service personnel may be able to apply for compensation through MoD schemes such as the Armed Forces Compensation Schemes or through the Criminal Injuries (Overseas) Compensation Scheme. If the accident was not your fault then it may also be possible to pursue a civil claim for compensation and this could lead to a higher award of damages. There are, however, strict time limits if you want to apply for compensation and you should therefore get legal advice as quickly as possible.
Tell us about some of the legal cases that you have worked with in the recent past
I campaigned alongside my client Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson for improvements in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
Some of my current cases include:
- A badly injured Lance Corporal who was struck in the head by a rocket propelled grenade following a negligent discharge;
- A Sergeant involved in a helicopter accident in Afghanistan resulting in serious head injury;
- A Sergeant assaulted in Canada claiming through the MOD's Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme;
- A Captain injured as a result of grenade being thrown by a colleague that exploded with shrapnel going through the clients eye, penetrating his brain;
- An ex- Special Forces soldier injured in an RTA in Iraq while working for a private security company and a private soldier hit by a military vehicle while on camp.
Do you have any further tips or advice for injured personnel?
It is important for injured service personnel to be aware that they can pay any compensation awarded into a personal injury compensation trust (sometimes called special needs trusts). Soldiers know very little about the trusts, but often have personal accident insurance payments and payments from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. When medically discharged any awards not protected in such a trust reduce any means tested state benefits which they can claim. Special Needs Trusts therefore can be very useful for them.