§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking in relation to the compensation claims of veterans of the Falklands and Gulf conflicts who have been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; and when they expect the first of these cases to come before the courts. [HL2286]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)Many of the claims from veterans alleged to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are similar and a group action was therefore set up by the Supreme Court last year. The group action consists of two groups. Group 1 is where the earliest alleged failure by the Ministry of Defence to diagnose or properly treat their condition occurred before the repeal of Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 on 15 May 1987 which prevented service personnel from pursuing claims for compensation from the Ministry of Defence. Group 2 is where the earliest alleged failure took place after 15 May 1987, since when service personnel have had the right to make common law claims for compensation. Approximately 15 lead cases from each group, to be agreed by both sides, will shortly be selected as representative of all the cases in the group action. These lead cases will proceed to trial towards the end of 2001, when a judge will rule on the issue of liability. The ruling in each of these lead cases will be binding on similar non-lead cases. In the meantime, both sides are concentrating on obtaining evidence in preparation for the trial.