The Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006

Determination of degree of disablement U.K.

42.—(1) The following provisions of this article shall apply for the purposes of the assessment of the degree of the disablement of a member of the armed forces due to service before 6th April 2005.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this article—

(a) the degree of the disablement due to service of a member of the armed forces shall be assessed by making a comparison between the condition of the member as so disabled and the condition of a normal healthy person of the same age and sex, without taking into account the earning capacity of the member in his disabled condition in his own or any other specific trade or occupation, and without taking into account the effect of any individual factors or extraneous circumstances;

(b) for the purpose of assessing the degree of disablement due to an injury which existed before or arose during service and has been and remains aggravated thereby—

(i) in assessing the degree of disablement existing at the date of the termination of the service of the member, account shall be taken of the total disablement due to that injury and existing at that date, and

(ii) in assessing the degree of disablement existing at any date subsequent to the date of the termination of his service, any increase in the degree of disablement which has occurred since the said date of termination shall only be taken into account in so far as that increase is due to the aggravation by service of that injury;

(c) where such disablement is due to more than one injury, a composite assessment of the degree of disablement shall be made by reference to the combined effect of all such injuries;

(d) the degree of disablement shall be assessed on an interim basis unless the member's condition permits a final assessment of the extent, if any, of that disablement.

(3) Where the average hearing loss at frequencies of 1, 2 and 3 kHz is not 50 dB or more in each ear, the degree of disablement in respect of that loss shall be assessed at less than 20 per cent.

(4) Neither noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss nor a related condition or symptom shall be taken into account in determining a member's total degree of disablement if the degree of disablement in respect of that loss alone is less than 20 per cent.

(5) The degree of disablement assessed under the foregoing provisions of this article shall be certified by way of a percentage, total disablement being represented by 100 per cent (which shall be the maximum assessment) and a lesser degree being represented by such percentage as bears to 100 per cent the same proportion as the lesser degree of disablement bears to total disablement, so however that a degree of disablement of 20 per cent or more shall be certified at a percentage which is a multiple of 10, and a degree of disablement which is less than 20 per cent shall, except in a case to which Table 1 of Part III of Schedule 1 applies, be certified in a manner suitable for the purposes of Table 2 of Part III of that Schedule.

(6) Where a disablement is due to an injury specified in Part V of Schedule 1 or is a disablement so specified, and, in either case, has reached a settled condition, the degree of that disablement shall, in the absence of any special features, be certified for the purposes of this article at the percentage specified in that Part as appropriate to that injury or to that disablement.

(7) An assessment of the degree of disablement due to service in respect of noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss shall be based solely on hearing loss due to service and shall not include any hearing loss due to age or other factors which are not related to service as a member of the armed forces and which arise after service.

(8) Noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss shall be measured by reference to audiometric tests, where available, conducted at or about the termination of the member's service and the degree of disablement due to service shall be assessed in accordance with paragraph (10).

(9) Where no such tests were conducted or are available, the assessment of the degree of disablement due to service shall be informed by the earliest available evidence, whether in terms of audiometric tests or other evidence relevant to the level of hearing loss that existed at termination of service and the assessment shall have regard to the relative percentages of degrees of disablement and measured hearing loss specified in Table 1 of Part VI of Schedule 1 but any hearing loss arising after termination of service shall not be included in the assessment.

(10) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9) and (11), the degree of disablement in respect of noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss which is due to service shall be assessed by—

(a) determining the average total hearing loss for each ear at 1, 2 and 3kHz frequencies; and then by

(b) determining the percentage degree of disablement for each ear in accordance with Table 1 of Part VI of Schedule 1; and then by

(c) determining the average percentage degree of binaural disablement in accordance with the following formula: (degree of disablement of better ear × 4) + (degree of disablement of worst ear) divided by 5; and

(d) in subparagraph (c) “better ear” means that ear in which the claimant's hearing loss is the less and “worse ear” means that ear in which the claimant's hearing loss is the more.

(11) Paragraphs (8), (9) and (10) shall not be applied so as to reduce any award made prior to 12th April 2004.

(12) For the purpose of determining the percentage degree of disablement in Table 1 of Part VI of Schedule 1, any fraction of an average hearing loss shall, where the average hearing loss is over 50dB, be rounded down to the next whole figure.

(13) Where—

(a) a member has sustained a minor injury specified in Table 1 of Part III of Schedule 1 as well as some other disablement due to service the degree of which is less than 100 per cent; and

(b) a composite assessment of the degree of the disablement from both causes is no higher than the assessment for the other disablement alone

this article shall have effect so as to authorise an award under article 7 in respect of the minor injury as well as an award under article 6 or 7 in respect of the other disablement.

(14) The degree of disablement certified under this article shall be the degree of disablement for the purposes of any award made under this Order.