Disabled Army Officer Wins Right to Sue Over Bridge Jump

Posted on Jul 03, 2009 
 

A Guards officer is set to receive millions of pounds in injury compensation after a challenge to prove his bravery led to a broken back. 
 
The Guards officer, 23 year old Charles Radclyffe, was dared to jump 65 feet from a bridge into a reservoir on a training exercise in Germany, and was told by a senior officer that it would be "bad form" if her refused to follow his own men in performing the jump.  
 
His senior officer said that if Radclyffe did not jump, he would be "lowered in the eyes of the men and more senior officers".  
 
Radclyffe made the jump and was unhurt but the next day he repeated the jump while swimming with fellow soldiers. This time, Radclyffe broke his back in the fall and was told that he would never be able to walk again.  
 
Although Army chiefs argued that they were not liable for damages because Radclyffe was off-duty at the time of the accident and "the voluntary author of his own misfortune". Top judges disagreed with this after hearing that Radclyffe's instructors had told him during his training at Sandhurst that officers are responsible for their men "24 hours a day".  
 
The judges concluded that Radclyffe was still under pressure to show he was as brave as the men under his command and therefore the Army shared responsibility for the injuries he sustained as a result of his jump.  
 
The President of the Queen's Bench Division, Sir Anthony May, sitting at the Court of Appeal, said that the captain in charge owed a "duty of care" to his young lieutenant, Radclyffe, and should have ordered all of the men not to make the "obviously dangerous jump from so great a height into the water" and commented that Radclyffe had felt under pressure to jump again, even though he was off duty.  
 
The judges upheld the earlier court ruling that had found the MoD 60% to blame and Radclyffe 40% to blame for the accident. Mr Radclyffe's solicitor, Sion Kingston of Irwin Mitchell, said of the case:  
 
"The MoD said what happened was his fault, but this activity was sanctioned by his senior officer, and the judgement vindicates his decision to go to court. The Army has a duty to take care of its personnel and undertake appropriate risk assessments of training activities, and that didn't happen."  
 
Although Mr Radclyffe was told that he would not be able to walk again, he has made a partial recovery and is planning climb the UK's three highest peaks and cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise money for research into spinal injuries.