TheCranker

Interesting article. Not sure if I agree that professional soldiers are entitled to a higher standard of NHS care then the rest of the population though. Especially seen as it would be at the expense of other people.

Sir Bert Preast

"Colleagues were not allowed to visit wearing uniform for fear of upsetting Muslim visitors and staff."

That's ********. The reason is that crippled soldiers have been threatened by muslim visitors. So they are wise to pretend they came off a motorbike or something.

Also, while soldiers get less than a quarter the compensation paid to civilians injured at work, yes they should certainly be bumped up the NHS waiting lists.

TheCranker

Do you have any links explaining why soldiers get paid 25% of those injured in the civilian workplace? Ignoring of course that the battlefield is an inherently dangerous place and so compensation should be lower anyway.

Sir Bert Preast

There's an example in the article:

"Parkinson, who is 23, has been at Headley Court for several months now. He has lost three years of memory but has regained a little movement in his arm and is learning to balance on special “kneeler legs” designed for double amputees.

“He’s being spoken of as the most wounded soldier that’s ever survived – it’s only down to modern techniques and a bit of luck that he’s still alive,” says Francie.

Despite that, Parkinson was initially offered only £152,000 in compensation, a sum meant to cover his medical costs for life, while a typist working for the RAF was awarded £484,000 for a repetitive strain injury to her thumb. To make matters worse, his girlfriend, Holly Wood has left him, unable to cope with the extent of his injuries, so he has also lost daily contact with his one-year-old son."

There is a fixed system of compensation in the military which does not take into account how much you'd have earned had you stayed in the job for life as the civvy system does.

Sir Bert Preast

Eh? So professional drivers, miners, sailors, farmers etc. should be paid less compensation than office workers? Why?

Cobbler

Eh? I've missed about 4 pages of this thread and cba to read through so I may be missing something.

But you appear to be saying that, if I work in a fluffy pillow assembly line and still managed to injure myself I should automatically be entitled to more compensation money than someone who puts their life on the line in defence of their countries interests and cops a bullet in the face? Explain why?

TheCranker

He gets paid £19,000 a year when he leaves the army though on top of his compensation. How does that differ from paying someone what they'd be expected to earn considering that's what he earns atm.

Sir Bert Preast

Who pays him that?

TheCranker

Because it's inherently dangerous. If I took a job smashing my head against the wall repeatedly I wouldn't expect the same compensation as someone who works on an assembly line and loses their legs through the poor safety procedures of their company. Compensation should be influenced by the employers ability to prevent such injury.

TheCranker

Who pays him that? </BLOCKQUOTE>
Me the tax payer.