Compensation claim news
29/01/2008

Army cadet sues following rock fall incident

An Army cadet from the Shetland Islands is making a personal injury compensation claim against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) after alleging she was hurt whilst a rock climbing activity.

The 22-year-old claims she was undertaking a training exercise when a large chunk of stone broke free from a rockface and struck her on the head. As a result of the incident, she was airlifted to hospital and required stitches in a 6cm wound on her cheek.

The cadet says doctors have told her she will be scarred for life and so has decided to contact no win, no fee personal injury lawyers to help her make an accident claim for compensation against the MoD.

She insists that the soldiers supervising the climbing exercise should have checked the rockface for loose stones and should also have ensured that the cadets were not too close in case any debris was dislodged.

Submitting her compensation claim for £20,000 through her personal injury solicitors, the woman said: "It was their [the senior officers in charge of the exercise] duty to see to it that cadets were not gathered at the foot of the rockface while it was reasonably foreseeable that they would be at risk from falling rocks."

It is believed the MoD will contest the compensation claim and sources have hinted that they believe the cadet to be at least partly responsible for the accident.