Troops cheated hearing tests to be deployed, says ex-marine suing MoD

A former Royal Marine who sued the Ministry of Defense (MoD) over hearing loss said he and others in his unit rigged hearing tests with the help of military medics so they could be deployed.

Christopher Lambie is one of nearly 10,000 former personnel suing the Department of Defense for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

It is one of four test cases being heard in the Supreme Court, and the outcome of those hearings affects how much compensation others can receive. Before the proceedings began, retired Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Davies settled his claim for compensation of £182,250.

The MoD accepts that there is a duty of care but disputes the extent to which hearing loss occurs in some cases.

Mr Lambie, 45, is seeking compensation of more than £400,000, but the Ministry of Defense has offered him around £58,000, with his lawyers claiming his hearing loss has not and will not impact on his future income.

He joined the Royal Marines in 1998 and was diagnosed with NIHL in 2002, but said in an eyewitness statement that “nothing was done to prevent my exposure to loud noises”.

Members of his unit were hearing tested before being deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and Mr Lambie said his “whole career has been spent in deployment training” and that he was “very conscious” about it.

He initially failed, but said the doctor passed the retake after testing him “pressing the button for sound and then immediately pressing my clicker.”

“We all knew that the emphasis on personnel was to make sure the Marines passed all the tests they had to pass for deployment because the Department of Defense needed as many people as possible to be able to deploy,” he said.

He said: “That’s why the medics helped us pass our medical tests.” He added that the doctor who performed the tests was “fully aware” of this.

Mr Lambie, now a defense and security consultant after being discharged in 2021, said members of the unit joked about cheating in exams, regardless of whether they needed to.

The Department of Defense has acknowledged “primary causation” in his case, but is debating how much he should receive.

In written submissions, the department’s David Platt KC said it was “undoubtedly regrettable” that Mr Lambie had “faked” his hearing test in 2011 but that it was “apparently an isolated instance of cheating”.

He said the amount claimed by the former sailor was “completely unrealistic” because his hearing loss had not hindered his career.

At a hearing in July last year, the Ministry of Defense admitted it had a duty of care to former staff, having challenged this in earlier legal action.

It has also been recognized that noise exposure in service caused hearing loss in former personnel, although the extent to which this occurred in some individual cases is debated.

Lieutenant Colonel Davies, 58, said his payout “finally acknowledges what I have lost and provides some justice”. In a statement, he said it was an “honour and privilege” to serve, but that facing permanent injury that could have been prevented was “hard to accept.”

Another ex-soldier, Stephen Hambridge, settled his case for £550,000.

The trial is expected to last nine weeks.

Separately, thousands of military veterans taking legal action After hearing protection was given to the Ministry of Defense and an earplug manufacturer, they said it was faulty.

An MoD spokesman said: “To ensure value for money for taxpayers, we defend against a range of claims or limit costs.

“Many of these claims are historical and in the years since, we have significantly improved hearing protective measures to prevent noise-related problems among our people.

“The Armed Forces Compensation Program provides no-fault compensation to Service Personnel and veterans for service-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.”