Hugh James Military Deafness Litigation - Judgment

The matrix agreement previously negotiated between Hugh James and the MoD already removed many of the arguments the MoD previously relied on to defend claims for hearing loss, such as saying claims were brought out of time or denying they were responsible for hearing loss and / or tinnitus.

The Judgment deals with the remaining areas of dispute, such as how military hearing loss is diagnosed and measured.

Taken together, the matrix agreement and the Judgment mean that claimants represented by Hugh James have succeeded on almost all the major issues.

Not automatically, but you are now in a very strong position. Because you have brought your claim with Hugh James, you have either already received, or are entitled to receive, a matrix offer. Under the matrix, the MoD has already given up many of the arguments it might otherwise have raised in your claim. In addition, the Judgment has now dealt with most of the remaining issues, largely in favour of the claimants. Each claimant will still need to prove, by way of medical evidence, that they have military NIHL.

We will now review your claim in light of the Judgment and let you know how it affects you. We will also contact the MoD to discuss how they intend to resolve your claim, along with the large number of similar cases brought against them.

If the MoD had chosen to, they could have resolved your claim without the need for court proceedings. The Judgment confirms that the main arguments put forward on behalf of claimants were largely accepted and it is disappointing that the MoD chose to contest these issues rather than resolving the claims earlier.

Now that the Judgment has been handed down, there is no reason why the MoD cannot move things forward more quickly. We are already arranging to speak with the MoD to understand how they intend to deal with claims quickly going forward.

The next steps in your case will mainly depend on the medical evidence:

• If you do not yet have medical evidence (an ENT report), we will arrange this for you.
• If you already have medical evidence, we will review it to see whether it needs to be updated in light of the Judgment. If further input is needed, we may ask the expert to provide an update or answer additional questions.
• If your medical evidence is complete and does not need updating, we will ensure it is sent to the MoD (if it has not been already).
• If your evidence has already been sent to the MoD, we will consider whether the financial losses being claimed on your behalf need to be updated and will discuss this with you if necessary.

It is difficult to give a clear timescale for settlement, as each case will still be considered on its own facts and so there is no set timescale for any one claim. Much will depend on how quickly medical evidence can be obtained or updated, and on the approach the MoD now chooses to take.

We understand that many of you have been waiting a long time and that it hasn’t been easy. We will be pressing the MoD to explain how they intend to deal with the large number of claims and to encourage a more efficient approach. In particular, there is no reason why a settlement scheme could not now be agreed to deal with claims more quickly and at lower cost.

We have already started discussions with the MoD’s solicitors about this and will keep you updated on any developments.

The MoD may begin to make offers to settle claims. If this happens, we will advise you on whether any offer is fair in your case. We will explain your options clearly so that you can make an informed decision. The final decision on whether to accept any offer will always be yours.

Some of the test claims settled shortly before trial for more than £500,000, having previously been offered much lower amounts. One Claimant whose case was decided by the Judge was awarded more than £100,000. While this does not mean your claim will be worth the same, it does show that these claims can be of significant value.

We will advise you on the value of your individual claim based on the Judgment and the medical evidence. We are aware of some individuals who have previously been advised to settle their claim for far less than the amounts awarded to the test claimants and we would strongly advise you to settle your claim for the correct and fair amount, rather than accepting an offer for much less than your claim is worth.

The amount of compensation each Claimant is entitled to depends on their individual circumstances and is not decided by the MoD.

We will advise you on the appropriate value for your individual case. Factors that affect the level of compensation you may receive include:

• Your age
• The level of your hearing loss
• Whether you have tinnitus and how severe it is
• Whether you need hearing aids earlier than you otherwise would have
• Any impact on your military career
• Whether your civilian career has been affected by hearing loss

Compensation levels vary quite widely. Some claims are worth significant sums, including six and even seven figures in some cases. The settlements in some of the test claims and the amounts ordered to be paid to the other test claimants by the Judge demonstrate that these claims are often worth a significant amount. However, each case is different. We will advise you on the likely value of your claim once we have reviewed your evidence.

Now that the court has settled the issues in the test cases, it should be possible for the MoD to take steps to settle your claim.

Before that can happen, we need to make sure all the necessary evidence is in place. This includes medical reports and details of the impact your hearing loss has had on you. Once this information has been gathered and shared with the MoD, they will be in a position to make an offer.

We will continue to put pressure on the MoD to resolve these claims as soon as possible. If they are not prepared to be sensible, we will advise you on alternative options to take your case forward but we hope this will not be necessary.

No. It is important to remember that the test Claimants won on the majority of issues being decided by the Court. While the Claimants did not succeed on every single point, they were successful on the most important issues.

When the Judgment is combined with the matrix agreement, it means you remain in a strong position overall. Under the matrix agreement, the MoD has given up many of the defences it might otherwise have raised, so it cannot dispute your claim on those grounds.

We will review your individual case and explain how the judgment affects you.

We will now fully consider the Judgment and review how it affects each case. This includes checking your medical evidence, considering whether any updates are needed, and considering whether we can put forward settlement proposals in line with the Judgment.

We have already had a preliminary meeting with the MoD to discuss how they intend to deal with the large number of claims they face. These discussions are still at an early stage, but we will continue to engage with them and press for a settlement scheme that would allow claims to be resolved more quickly.

We expect a lot of action to be taken over the coming weeks and will keep you updated.

Many claims have been ongoing for several years, largely due to the court timetable for the test cases and the MoD’s refusal to engage in settlement discussions or make offers that were fair or reasonable.

We understand that this has been frustrating, and we appreciate your patience and understanding of the work we are doing to resolve these cases for you. It is important that any settlement you receive properly reflects the impact of your hearing loss, as you are only able to bring this claim once.

We will continue to progress all claims as quickly as possible and will press for the oldest and most advanced cases to be dealt with as a priority wherever we can.

It is fair to say that these claims could have been resolved much sooner if the MoD had taken a different approach. They could have accepted the issues they have now lost at an earlier stage, which would have avoided the need for lengthy court proceedings. It is very disappointing that they did not do so, as this would have meant claims such as yours could have been finalised much more quickly.

Going forward, we will continue to push for all claims to be handled fairly and efficiently, with priority given where it is appropriate.

You will typically need to attend a screening audiogram at the start of your claim and a consultation with an ENT expert. If you have already attended a medical appointment, it is likely that a further appointment will not be needed.

Where we already have medical evidence, we will consider this in light of the findings made by the Judge in the test claims. If any updates or clarifications are required, we will try to deal with this by contacting the expert directly. If a further appointment is necessary, we will explain why and discuss this with you.

Each case is different, and compensation depends on individual circumstances.

However, the Judgment in the test claims did give guidance on what level of damages should be paid. It seems clear that in the vast majority of claims, settlements of only a few thousand pounds are not appropriate and do not reflect the actual losses suffered by those suffering with military deafness.

We will review your individual case and advise you on an appropriate award. If we have prepared a Schedule of Loss and written to you previously to advise you on the level of damages you might expect to receive, we will review this in light of the Judgment and let you know if this estimate has changed.

If you have only claimed under the War Pension Scheme (WPS) or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS), you can still bring a civil claim.

If you have already settled a civil claim with the MoD, you cannot bring a new one. However, we are currently advising a number of Claimants who appear to have previously been advised to settle their hearing loss claim against the MoD for a lower amount than their claim was potentially worth, and certainly for less than the test Claimants were awarded in Court. If you are concerned that this might apply to you please get in touch so we can advise you on your options.

The most helpful thing you can do is:

• Make sure your contact details are up to date;
• Respond promptly if we ask for information;
• Ensure that you have instructed only Hugh James and not a second solicitor to bring your claim at the same time.

We will do all we can to progress your claim and will continue to press the MoD for an early response.

In addition to engaging directly with the MoD, we have also been contacted by members of the press who have shown an interest in the Military Deafness Litigation. We intend to keep them informed of developments, including any ongoing delays.

As the MoD is ultimately accountable to Parliament, you may also wish to contact your local MP for support. Your MP can write to the MoD on your behalf to ask for an explanation for any delays and to request that your claim is dealt with more urgently.

In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to ensure that you have instructed only Hugh James to act for you. Some clients have, unintentionally, instructed more than one firm of solicitors to act on their behalf. Unfortunately, this can lead to delays and confusion when the MoD are assessing your claim and may slow down the progress of your claim.

If you’re unsure or think that this may apply to you, here are some things you can do to check:

• Check your emails to see whether you are receiving more than one military deafness update. If so, you may have mistakenly instructed more than one firm of solicitors.
• Email us to inform us so that we can discuss next steps with you.

Be cautious of any other firms contacting you. We are aware that some clients have seen adverts on social media which have then resulted in them instructing other firms as well as Hugh James. Instructing another firm of solicitors, even unintentionally, can cause delays and may lead to other firms attempting to charge for any work they do.

Under the matrix agreement, the MoD gave up many of the defences it might otherwise have raised. The test case Judgment should also help narrow, or resolve, most of the disputes about whether hearing loss was caused by military noise.

This means that in most cases, you shouldn’t need to go to court. Very few claims went to trial before this judgment, and we expect even fewer will now. However, if the MoD does not make a fair offer in your claim, there is still a possibility that a small number of cases may need to go to court. If the MoD does not put forward a reasonable offer in settlement of your claim, you would need to ask a Judge to decide whether you should receive compensation and if so, how much you are entitled to.

At this stage we don’t need you to do anything.

We will review your case and contact you if we need anything or when there is an update.

The MoD has not yet said whether it will appeal and we do not know whether they intend to.

Even if the MoD did want to appeal, it would need permission from the Court which may not be given. Even if it is, that doesn’t mean an appeal would succeed. Importantly, the Judgment still applies unless and until it is overturned. This means that we can and will press the MoD to start resolving individual claims even if they try to bring an appeal.

If you have a claim with Hugh James for a cold injury as well as hearing loss, the cold injury claim would have been put on hold by the Court until the judgment was available. Now we have received the judgment, we will look to progress your claims for both injuries.

We will review the cold injury claim together with the claim for hearing loss and be in touch with you to discuss next steps once we have been able to consider the full implications of the Judgment.

Your claims are strongest if they are brought together and often some of the losses suffered overlap between the two claims. For this reason, we are generally unable to recommend separating the two matters even if one is more advanced than the other.

If you have suffered a cold injury during the course of your military service, but have not claimed for this and would like some advice on whether you can do so, please email us on [email protected] and we will arrange for someone to contact you to discuss this further.