£160,000 for cold injuries
Injury lawyers of a promising army recruit have helped him get £160,000 in a work accident claim.
The 26-year-old from Cleveland, was discharged after developing a non-freezing cold injury because he was not given the right equipment.
He developed the debilitating condition in 2005 after being forced to hike three times in freezing, wet and boggy conditions without specialist insulated boots.
He was formally diagnosed with a non-freezing cold injury to both feet by the Cold Injury Clinic in June 2005, and ordered to stay indoors.
But despite this, he was again required to go out on exercise in freezing conditions within three months on Salisbury Plain.
This gruelling exercise caused his personal injury to become so severe that he was discharged on medical grounds.
His injury lawyers said that it would take two years for his personal injuries to recover and even then he would be more vulnerable to the cold.
Following discharge, he was forced to accept a lower paid job as a delivery driver.
His injury lawyers argued he should have been provided with adequate protection to avoid the onset of his condition.
They also told the court that he should not have been forced to undertake further training in the cold until he had been given the medical clearance to do so.
Updated on 11/03/2010