Hilary Meredith Solicitors Ltd, a member of the Brain Injury Group, successfully took a case to the Court of Appeal which ruled in favour of royal marine Thomas Birch, from Heanor, Derbyshire.
Thomas was just 18 and a lance corporal when the land rover he was driving plunged off a cliff in Afghanistan, leaving him with severe skull, brain and internal injuries.
Mr Birch launched legal action against the MoD, claiming that a fault in the vehicle was to blame and he had been allowed to drive without a licence or military permit. The High Court initially dismissed this, ruling that he “must take his responsibility for his own decision to drive.
However, following an appeal by Hilary Meredith, the judgement was reversed in favour of Mr Birch, with a final figure for compensation yet to be decided. Birch has already been awarded a lump sum of £318,000 through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, but Birch’s barrister, Amanda Yip QC, said these amounts would “only be a fraction of his entitlement” following the favourable ruling.
Despite his considerable injuries, Mr Birch has since learnt to walk and talk again, and has qualified as a personal trainer. In 2009 he won brain injury charity Headway’s ‘achiever of the year’ award.
Read the source article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-22906283
