A true WTF moment:
A English soldier, Private Jamie Cooper, loses a leg and a hand in battle in Iraq. Total compensation: 57 thousand pounds.
An English civil servant strains his back whilst lifting a printer in the office. Total compensation: 202 thousand pounds.
What a disgrace.
(footnote: I’m sure the differences in America are even more extreme. I don’t have the facts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if American soldiers were getting squat for losing limbs in battle, while some asshole spilling coffee on his lap win millions for exposure to such grave and stressful danger).
Link: from the Times
Here´s a good statistic while you´re at it.
85,795 – 93,594 Iraqi civilian deaths – 0 compensation
Source: iraqbodycount.org
Actually, that´s not entirely true. One third of families related to 500 Iraqi civilians killed (by US soldiers) have have received compensation, So if we take the conservative estimate that leaves about 85,595 families without compensation, something rotten indeed!
As far as I know there is no compensation for those who have been injured.
Such omissions make me wonder if Michael Smith values Iraqi lives on par with those of British or American soldiers. After all, isn´t the unnecessary loss of so many civilian lives the real injustice here?
Source: Human Rights Watch