Met police firearms

[Fedster + 1,307]

Injury on duty pension decisions have already been made when forcing personnel to leave force, judge says.

Officers who are retired by their force because of disabilities should not have to be reassessed to receive an injury pension, the High Court has ruled.

It follows a challenge by former Cheshire Constabulary officer Mark Evans who suffered a number of injuries and was involved in several traumatic events throughout his career.

These included two road traffic collisions and stopping an incident in which a child abuse victim tried to set himself on fire. The person he saved hanged himself a month later.

Mr Evans was required to leave the force in 2015 and is entitled to a disability pension but was refused an additional injury pension after a medical assessment arranged by the force ruled his disablement was not the permanent result of an injury suffered on duty.

He had already been serving in a non-operational role because of his disability since 2007, until he was retired.

The Hon Mr Justice Lane said: “Police officers who are required to retire on grounds of permanent disablement are entitled to a degree of finality in respect of their entitlement to pensions.

“A police officer who has to retire as a result of what is then considered to be permanent disablement caused in the line of duty should not be at the mercy of a subsequent medical assessment, that he or she was not, in fact, permanently disabled.”

Ron Thompson, of Haven Solicitors, who brought the case on behalf of Mr Evans said the ruling may open the way for others in the same situation to have their cases reconsidered.

Cheshire Constabulary did not reply to a request for comment before this article went live.

View On Police Oracle

[Pavillion 43]

Thats seems fair to me.