“A Kosovan man shot in the jaw by a British soldier has been awarded £2.4 million compensation after suing the Ministry of Defence. The sum is more than eight times the maximum damages available to UK troops seriously injured abroad, and has been criticised by the relatives of disabled veterans.” Muhamet Bici had been “in a car with other men who were firing weapons into the air to celebrate a national holiday” in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo; a Military Police probe cleared British soldiers who shot at the car of charges of wrongdoing, saying they reasonably if erroneously believed themselves in danger. (Matthew Moore, “MoD pays out £2.4m to Kosovan shot in the jaw”, Daily Telegraph, Nov. 6).
One Comment
Uh, isn’t recklessly firing a weapon in a war zone assumption of risk?
On the other hand, as the article points out, the comparison of the damages awarded to the maximum damages available to a British soldier is unfair since the Kosovan received only the lump sum whereas a British soldier will receive not only a lump sum but a lifetime pension.