Ex-Royal Marine forced to quit after sound of gunfire ruined his hearing wins more than £700,000 compensation
A FORMER Royal Marine forced to quit after the sound of gunfire ruined his hearing has won more than £700,000 compensation.
James Barry, 34, enlisted as a Commando in 2013 and hoped to eventually join the Special Boat Service.
But he was medically discharged in 2017 after suffering hearing loss.
Mr Barry said he was issued with over-ear defenders to be used on live fire exercises but they were impractical.
And alternative foam ear inserts he was issued failed to block noise effectively and often fell out.
Mr Barry, now a lorry driver, sued the Ministry of Defence over the loss of his military career and the onset of hearing loss and chronic tinnitus.
The MoD accepted primary liability, but claimed Mr Barry, of Nottingham, was partly to blame by not using the provided ear protection.
But at London’s High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Johnson threw out that argument, calling the defenders “inadequate and incompatible with other equipment”.
He awarded £713,716 in damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.