Duncan and another v Secretary of State for Defence, [2009] EWCA Civ 1043, [2009] All ER (D) 121 (Oct)
Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Keene, Carnwath and Elias LJJ,
12 October 2009
The appropriate date for assessing injuries and their likely trajectory for the purposes of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005, (SI 2005/439) (the scheme), is the date of the decision, not the date of the initiating injury. Further, injuries resulting from proper and appropriate medical treatment designed to cure the patient or alleviate pain do not exacerbate or constitute the creation of an additional injury.
Derek Sweeting QC, Jeffrey Jupp & Hugh Lyons, solicitor advocate (instructed by Lovells LLP) for the claimants. Nathalie Lieven QC & Andrew Henshaw (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the Secretary of State.
Two appeals before the court concerned the proper construction of the scheme, which had been set up pursuant to the Armed Forces (Pension and Compensation) Act 2004.
Schedule 4 to the Order set out a series of tables identifying categories of injuries, and within each category there were numerous descriptions of
