Challenging and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme decision
 

I am seeking help and advice with an Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) claim that was recently rejected. I claimed for hearing loss but it was declined based on it being submitted outside the specified 7-year time limit. I intend to challenge the decision but thought I’d ask folk for advice or experiences on how best to approach it. My thoughts so far:

1. AFCS have declared my date of injury as 1 Jun 2008, but this is the date I attended hospital for additional and more advanced hearing tests. I would argue that it is impossible to pinpoint the injury date for hearing loss as annual medicals and hearing tests are considered routine examinations and cannot be accurately described as the injury date.

2. I am still serving and my hearing continues to decline. If the AFCS consider the injury date as 1 Jun 2008 and the 7 year time limit applies, then I would like to understand my position if my hearing medical category drops again from H2 to H3. This is very likely and given their argument, I would contest that this would become a new date of injury and the 7-year clock would start again, allowing me to re-submit a new claim.

3. Despite the AFCS considering the injury date as 1 Jun 2008, I was not informed of the hospitals letter at the time and I was not in a position to properly consider my position and options available. I was only made aware of the letter as my hearing declined again in 2017 and the Doctor carrying out my medical read my notes and highlighted the letters content to me. The MOD cannot prove that I received the letter and I would argue that there should have been a more robust process in place to ensure I had received the specialists letter, and that I understood the information contained within it.

4. During this years PME, my MO said that claiming for hearing loss under the AFCS is only a recent addition and that the 7-year time limit should perhaps start from this date and not the date of injury. It is possible that the failings to inform me mentioned above in point 3, were due to hearing loss not being part of the AFCS in 2008.

5. Lastly and most importantly, I have just recently returned to flying and I still feel that I am being let down by the MOD. As already mentioned, my most recent hearing test was a slight decline on last year and given my H2, I thought additional examinations and procedures were mandated. Despite me raising it at my last PME, I have not seen or received any such tests and/or information and I would argue that my noisy work environment continues to expose me to an increased loud noise risk and that the MOD have failed to properly assess the long term impact it will have. This point may end up in me being grounded, but I'm more concerned with my long-term health and highlighting the continuing procedural/medical failings of the service!!!

I maybe clutching at straws here and despite the potential compensation not being a huge amount, I’m challenging out of principle. The university letter says my hearing loss is down to my work environment but I’d like some formal recognition by the AFCS/MOD in lieu of the history, ambiguity and failures mentioned above.

Cheers Grand Jury

First, you don't say whether it is acknowledged that your hearing loss is 'attributable' even though others suggest it is.

You say you have recently returned to flying. If your claim is successful, will that impact on your continued suitability to fly. In addition, what would be your status if later the service pulls the plug on your flying because of your hearing loss.

That said, you need to appeal the points you have made ie 'press to test'. You also need to ensure that you have access to an acknowledged 'big cheese' in the ear, nose and throat world.

Have you any HSW documentation or such like which says your working environment is unhealthy and have any measurements been taken which supports your case.

Old Duffer

I think para 3 is the most significant one.

Now there was no question of an in-service award in my time so I know nothing of that detail. I was downgraded from A1 to A2 some 20 years before I retired.. I was required to sign a letter acknowledging my downgrading. I doubt that procedure has changed.

You have a date. Make a subject access request for your medical notes at that time, or ask them to show you the letter you 'signed'.

Also contact the RBL, they will give you better, and current, advice than we sweats on pprune.

A bit of thread drift and not a dig at GD.

Noisy environments and hearing loss have been known about for some time now and whilst people may claim that the environment was the route cause of their hearing loss, many did nothing to mitigate the loss.

Quite often I've seen people not bother with hearing protection and when challenged, I've been told that they don't like wearing ear plugs...

Hearing is far too precious to take a chance and just because it might seem okay today, it doesn't mean it is going to be fine in the years to come.

You've got to take care.

Saint, quite right, but a very brief summary of my experience.

In 1962 we were told not to wear our helmets as we could not hear a shouted warning.

In 1963 it was SOP to wear service headdress to the aircraft.

In 1974 we wore headphones with noise attenuation.

In 1978 we had a trial of noise attenuation.

In 1981 we had noise attenuation headsets.

In 1991 it was mandatory that we wore headsets on the dispersal.