Former PSNI officers win High Court battle over being refused enhanced injury awards

A judge quashed a decision by the Northern Ireland Policing Board to reject independent medical assessments on the level of their disablement.

In a case potentially worth more than £400,000 to the public purse, proceedings centred on interpretations of the compensation payable to retired policemen and women who suffered injuries on duty.

The two former officers, who both joined the PSNI in 2003, were assessed by a Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) as part of the process for calculating the level of payments.

The doctor identified that they were permanently disabled from post-traumatic stress disorder. The impact on their earning capacity from those injuries on duty were assessed as being within the minor ‘Band 2’ category.

In 2021 both officers appealed the determination to an Independent Medical Referee (IMR) who instead found that the degree of disablement in their cases should be classed as very severe ‘Band 4’.

Under the greater liability their lump sum awards would double, the court heard, with yearly payments also increasing by 64% and 57%.

“The augmented awards in these two cases would amount to over £435,000,” Mr Justice Scoffield observed.

The Policing Board’s Resources Committee considered the IMR reports but refused the appeals, stating that the process applied was not consistent with current guidance.

Lawyers for the two officers claimed the decision was unlawful and irrational.

Ruling on the challenge, Mr Justice Scoffield held there was an obligation on the board to treat the relevant medical practitioner’s certificate as determinative and to give effect to those decisions.

He added: “The result of this order will be that a determination in each of the applicant’s cases now falls again for consideration by the board.”