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United Kingdom

Military noise-induced hearing loss claims against the Ministry of Defence (MOD): regulatory duties, combat immunity, limitation, causation (CLB/LCB vs rM-NIHL), MDL and quantum

Practice notes
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Background

Claims for noise‑induced hearing loss (NIHL) have existed for many years, yet in recent times there has been a marked surge in actions brought against the Ministry of Defence (MOD), in particular on behalf of Army, Navy and RAF personnel for NIHL arising from military service—commonly termed ‘M‑NIHL’ claims. While M‑NIHL shares much in common with occupational NIHL (O‑NIHL), these military claims often present distinctive characteristics that must be taken into account when handling and progressing them.

Existence and extent of duties

Members of the armed forces are not employees, as they do not serve under contracts of service; in constitutional terms, they are servants of the Crown. Nevertheless, it is firmly recognised and long established that service personnel are owed duties equivalent to those owed to employees by their employers.

Military Deafness Litigation (MDL)

M‑NIHL claims also at present proceed within the framework of an ongoing Military Deafness Litigation (MDL), involving roughly 5,000 claimants pursuing such cases, which are being coordinated together in a manner akin to formal group litigation. A High Court trial of ten lead cases is currently listed to be heard in October 2025...

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David Green
David Green

A personal injury and employment barrister with particular interest and expertise in occupational disease, military and international claims, and in discrimination and whistleblowing cases....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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