Another 17 cases of hearing compensation payments to soldiers are being appealed to the Supreme Court following yesterday's decision to refer back an award of £20,000 to a 57-year old retired soldier for alleged hearing disability.
The ex-soldier, who by coincidence has the same name as the Minister for Defence, Mr Michael Smith, had his compensation award referred back to the High Court.
He claims he has spent "every penny" of the £20,000 and says he is very frightened about having to find money if he has to return the award.
His case was the first to be appealed to the Supreme Court by the Department of Defence. The outstanding appeals, which will come before the Supreme Court over the next two years, are similar to Mr Smith's case in that the main grounds for appeal are against the amount of compensation awarded by the High Court.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, welcomed yesterday's decision by the Supreme Court to order a new trial. He also warned that costs of further large compensation payments would have to come from "economies" in the Defence budget. During the summer Mr Smith ordered the closure of five Army barracks, directly as a direct result of the mounting hearing compensation payments.
Mr Smith said he was concerned that compensation awards to soldiers with marginal impairments were still too high.
He said: "The Government is committed to a fair resolution of this problem, which must include fair compensation for a significant hearing impairment. Acceptance by all concerned of a more realistic tariff would facilitate a more streamlined approach to claims and a saving in legal costs. The Government is ever mindful that increasing resources for compensation can only be funded from economies elsewhere."
The ex-soldier went to a solicitor in 1993 to see about a claim for a spinal injury. "I told the solicitor about my hearing and he, in turn, sent me to do the necessary tests."