Justice for the injured

Justice for the injured: Royal Navy with a brain injury.

A 21 years old, Tom Birch will never be able to work again after a head injury in an accident in Afghanistan, although they served in the Royal Marines.

The ex-Corporal Lance has no memory of the day, when in October 2006 it dropped to 100 meters an embankment in a Land Rover, which his lawyers say he was not qualified to drive.

In fact, the ex-Marine has no memory of the whole service again in the country itself and must be based on the statements of others, and photographs.

Nevertheless, it is now on the challenge, the Ministry of Defense before the civil courts for negligence increased lump-sum payment of less than £ 89,000.

There was a fracture of the skull out of tune, haemorrhage, a lung is collapsed and other injuries, but survived.

After a series of intensive, round-the-clock care, had to re-learn to walk and speak.

Three years later, his speech is pasty, his memory and concentration, severely compromised.

With a little realistic hope of maintaining a job, we offered him a lump sum of just over 88,600 pounds under the Armed Forces of the compensation.

Mr Birch, the amount, he suggested, is not the most important.

"I do not remember me, I know that's not much," he says.

Living with her mother, Gail, in Heanor, Derbyshire, the long-term security is fixated on the outcome of a civil law proceedings for negligence, against which he was the Defense Ministry.

"First is to ensure that this is not something different, so I'm OK," said Birch.

"I'm only 21, I am 18 years old when it happened, I had many years to do it is just to make sure that I am."

His lawyer, Gary Boyd by Hilary Meredith prosecutors are to argue that high-ranking officers turning a "blind" in the practice of the application or to allow the army to regain control of the vehicles that are not qualified to drive.

They also submit that the vehicle is not properly using the site, it has been subjected.