Introduction

A recent Armed Forces Compensation Scheme decision went to the Court of Appeal.  And the veteran won their case.   Jasmine Skander of Kings Chambers wrote a great summary, which we highly recommend.

 

Case title: Pearson v The Secretary of State for Defence [2024] EWCA Civ 150

Decision: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2024/150.html

Decision date: 23 Feb 2024

Hearing date: 31 Jan 2024 

 

How the Veterans Law Project can help you understand the decision

One of the things this site is trying to achieve is to help people find the cases relevant to their situation – or to those they’re helping.

 

Below are the cases referred to in the Pearson decision.  The number on the left is the paragraph in the judgment (ranging from 1 to 56) and, where another case is referred to, we will provide the case title and a link to the decision.  If a judgment isn’t publicly available (as with the First Tier Tribunal decision), we will highlight that.

 

Ok, here we go…

 

Paragraph 11: Secretary of State for Defence v Lance Corporal (Now Corporal) Duncan & Anor [2009] EWCA Civ 1043

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/1043.html

 

Para 19: Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, 2019 amendments

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/440/made

 

Para 21-24: First Tier Tribunal decision - not publicly available

 

Para 25-31: Upper Tribunal decision, CRP v Secretary of State for Defence: [2022] UKUT 232 (AAC)

https://www.gov.uk/administrative-appeals-tribunal-decisions/crp-v-secretary-of-state-for-defence

 

We hope that the Pearson decision will help veterans and service personnel with similar mental health challenges.  And that the decision will also help the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal to consider in more depth what the relevant legislation intended to achieve.

 

We wish Mr Pearson luck at his future First Tier Tribunal, whilst being very sorry that, having had his Court of Appeal win, he has to go back through the rigmarole of another tribunal hearing.