air pig
19th Feb 2022, 14:23
This has just popped up on the Telegraph website.
Former RAF helicopter pilot suing MoD for damages, claiming heavy body armour ruined his private lifeLouis Warburton was forced to wear 20-kilogram body armour when flying Chinook helicopters during the UN-backed operation in Mali
By Patrick Sawer, (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/p/pa-pe/patrick-sawer/) Senior News Reporter and Sarah Limbrick (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/s/sa-se/sarah-limbrick/) 19 February 2022 • 2:41pm https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2020/12/11/TELEMMGLPICT000246520037_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqR3XPYrnSt9tnppCoS Otde6rvq3nKKeIhIaiLTE-o-bQ.jpeg?imwidth=680 An RAF Chinook helicopter in action Credit: PA A former RAF helicopter pilot who flew in peacekeeping missions in Mali is suing the Ministry of Defence for damages, claiming the heavy body armour he had to wear ruined his personal life.
Louis Warburton was forced to wear 20-kilogram body armour when flying Chinook helicopters during the UN-backed Operation Newcombe, which he says pressed against his thighs, damaging his sciatic and femoral nerves, causing intense pain and numbness.
He was medically discharged from the RAF (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-air-force/) and says that the pain has affected his daily activities, including his sex life with his partner.
Difficulty sleepingDocuments submitted by his legal team at Irwin Mitchell state: “[His] continuing symptoms curtailed his ability to undertake his normal RAF duties, and he has [been], and remains, restricted in his domestic activities. He has difficulty sleeping due to on-going pain and his activities of daily living, including his personal life with his partner, have been adversely affected.”
Mr Warburton claims MOD negligently failed to provide suitable and reasonably safe personal protective equipment, and says the armour was so heavy it damaged his soft tissues.
In legal papers lodged with the High Court he also claims the MOD negligently provided armour that was so poorly adjusted it hindered his movements and function as a pilot, and did not allow him full vision of the instrument panel.
It is also alleged that the MoD failed to carry out a risk assessment, failed to provide a safe system and place of work, failed to act on his complaints, and that he was not shown how to adjust the armour so that the protective plates did not press on his thighs.
Mr Warburton, 30, a former Flight Lieutenant with 18 Squadron at RAF Odiham, is suing the MoD for more than £200,000 in compensation.
Heavy body armourThe 30-year-old, from Hook, Hampshire, joined the RAF in 2010 and was deployed to Mali in early 2019 (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/mali/), providing military assistance to the French army as part of the the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation mission.
Mr Warburton had to wear the Load Carriage System body armour on all Chinook flights and claims that as a result he could not move in his seat, and his legs remained flexed during long flights of up to 8 hours.
He claims the armour was overly bulky, excessively heavy, ill-fitting, and inadequately adjusted, making him lean forwards in his set which made the front ceramic plates press against his thighs.
Mr Warburton says he had to sit in an unconventional position, which hurt his lower back and buttocks, and that he was not allowed to remove the backplate from the body armour until about half-way through his deployment.
Painful conditionHe reported his painful condition in January 2019 and was medically downgraded the following July, but says he continued to suffer problems.
On his return to the UK later that year, he said he could not sit on chairs or drive a vehicle without pain and has been left unable to carry out many simple domestic activities or to apply for many jobs.
An MOD spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our personnel is our foremost priority on both training and operations. It would be inappropriate to comment further as this is an ongoing case (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ministry-of-defence/).”
Whitehall sources said that all compensation claims are considered on the basis of whether or not the MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation and that "where there is a proven liability compensation is paid".
Former RAF helicopter pilot suing MoD for damages, claiming heavy body armour ruined his private lifeLouis Warburton was forced to wear 20-kilogram body armour when flying Chinook helicopters during the UN-backed operation in Mali
By Patrick Sawer, (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/p/pa-pe/patrick-sawer/) Senior News Reporter and Sarah Limbrick (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/s/sa-se/sarah-limbrick/) 19 February 2022 • 2:41pm https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2020/12/11/TELEMMGLPICT000246520037_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqR3XPYrnSt9tnppCoS Otde6rvq3nKKeIhIaiLTE-o-bQ.jpeg?imwidth=680 An RAF Chinook helicopter in action Credit: PA A former RAF helicopter pilot who flew in peacekeeping missions in Mali is suing the Ministry of Defence for damages, claiming the heavy body armour he had to wear ruined his personal life.
Louis Warburton was forced to wear 20-kilogram body armour when flying Chinook helicopters during the UN-backed Operation Newcombe, which he says pressed against his thighs, damaging his sciatic and femoral nerves, causing intense pain and numbness.
He was medically discharged from the RAF (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-air-force/) and says that the pain has affected his daily activities, including his sex life with his partner.
Difficulty sleepingDocuments submitted by his legal team at Irwin Mitchell state: “[His] continuing symptoms curtailed his ability to undertake his normal RAF duties, and he has [been], and remains, restricted in his domestic activities. He has difficulty sleeping due to on-going pain and his activities of daily living, including his personal life with his partner, have been adversely affected.”
Mr Warburton claims MOD negligently failed to provide suitable and reasonably safe personal protective equipment, and says the armour was so heavy it damaged his soft tissues.
In legal papers lodged with the High Court he also claims the MOD negligently provided armour that was so poorly adjusted it hindered his movements and function as a pilot, and did not allow him full vision of the instrument panel.
It is also alleged that the MoD failed to carry out a risk assessment, failed to provide a safe system and place of work, failed to act on his complaints, and that he was not shown how to adjust the armour so that the protective plates did not press on his thighs.
Mr Warburton, 30, a former Flight Lieutenant with 18 Squadron at RAF Odiham, is suing the MoD for more than £200,000 in compensation.
Heavy body armourThe 30-year-old, from Hook, Hampshire, joined the RAF in 2010 and was deployed to Mali in early 2019 (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/mali/), providing military assistance to the French army as part of the the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation mission.
Mr Warburton had to wear the Load Carriage System body armour on all Chinook flights and claims that as a result he could not move in his seat, and his legs remained flexed during long flights of up to 8 hours.
He claims the armour was overly bulky, excessively heavy, ill-fitting, and inadequately adjusted, making him lean forwards in his set which made the front ceramic plates press against his thighs.
Mr Warburton says he had to sit in an unconventional position, which hurt his lower back and buttocks, and that he was not allowed to remove the backplate from the body armour until about half-way through his deployment.
Painful conditionHe reported his painful condition in January 2019 and was medically downgraded the following July, but says he continued to suffer problems.
On his return to the UK later that year, he said he could not sit on chairs or drive a vehicle without pain and has been left unable to carry out many simple domestic activities or to apply for many jobs.
An MOD spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our personnel is our foremost priority on both training and operations. It would be inappropriate to comment further as this is an ongoing case (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ministry-of-defence/).”
Whitehall sources said that all compensation claims are considered on the basis of whether or not the MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation and that "where there is a proven liability compensation is paid".