Military personnel suffer serious injuries in Salisbury Plain training exercise crash

Posted: 19/06/2015

An accident involving multiple military vehicles has caused ‘life changing’ injuries for five military personnel. Around 20 soldiers were reported to have been injured in the road traffic collision on a public route during a military training exercise near Stonehenge this week.

Two people had to be cut free from vehicles by firefighters. A further two victims with life-threatening injuries were taken to Southampton General Hospital by air ambulance, and eight more were taken to Salisbury Hospital. It is understood that six personnel currently remain in hospital.

Salisbury Plain is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is the largest military training area in the UK.

Charlene McAuliffe, an associate in Penningtons Manches' personal injury team, comments: “Whilst the exact cause of this terrible incident has yet to be determined, it is difficult not to be concerned over the safety measures that were in place prior to the collision. A thorough independent investigation will need to be carried out to establish the cause and consider what needs to be done in order to prevent such an incident happening again. Unfortunately, we continue to see the devastating consequences of poor planning and inadequate risk assessment in the workplace. Military personnel have the same rights as any other employee injured at work when they are not in war or conflict. An employee is owed a duty of care by their employer. The employer is responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect an employee’s safety and avoid the risk of him or her sustaining an injury while carrying out work activities.

“Our thoughts are with those who were involved. We can only hope that this latest incident will go some way to addressing these ongoing issues. Employers should take note of their current practices and ensure that they are adequately protecting their staff.”

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