A former British air force helicopter pilot has reportedly sued the Ministry of Defence (MoD), accusing it of negligently issuing heavy body armor that led to nerve damage and sexual dysfunction. He is seeking more than £200,000 ($271,884) in damages, according to The Telegraph.
In the lawsuit filed at the High Court, Louis Warburton – an almost 10-year veteran with the Royal Air Force (RAF) – alleges that the 20kg (44lbs) ‘Load Carriage System’ body armor had damaged soft tissues, the paper reported. The 30-year-old accused the MoD of failing to carry out a risk assessment and act on his complaints about the armor being poorly adjusted.
The paper noted that Warburton, a former flight lieutenant with 18 Squadron at RAF Odiham base, served in peacekeeping operations in Mali, where he flew Chinook helicopters during the ongoing Operation Newcombe. He claimed the bulky armor squeezed his thighs during long flights of up to eight hours, damaging his sciatic and femoral nerves and causing severe pain and numbness.
Less than a month after being deployed to Mali in January 2019, Warburton reported his painful symptoms to the MoD, The Telegraph noted. This apparently led to him being medically downgraded in July 2019 and then discharged from the RAF. However, the problems persisted – disrupting his professional and personal lives.
Documents submitted by his legal team allege that he has “difficulty sleeping due to ongoing pain” and his “personal life with his partner, have been adversely affected,” the paper reported. Warburton also apparently said he could not drive or sit down without pain, which has left him “restricted in domestic activities” and unable to apply for a number of jobs.
According to The Telegraph, the suit claims the MoD was negligent in failing to issue suitable and reasonably safe personal protective equipment and providing a safe system and place of work. It also noted that Warburton was not shown how to adjust the armor.
An unnamed MoD spokesperson declined to comment on the case, but told The Telegraph paper that “the health and safety of our personnel is our foremost priority on both training and operations.” The paper also quoted government sources as saying “compensation is paid” to claims where the MoD’s legal liability has been “proven.”