The High Court dismissed Francis Corbett’s claim against Ireland, the Attorney General and the Minister for Defence, finding that the Army had not treated him inappropriately or failed to provide adequate support in response to the events he experienced during overseas service.
In a judgment delivered on 25 April 2006, Mr Justice de Valera accepted that Corbett was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the time proceedings began on 8 August 2000. The defence conceded that he had the condition. The judge found, on the balance of probabilities, that it arose from experiences during his tours of duty, specifically two incidents in Lebanon in 1991 and an incident in 1997. He found no relevant incident occurred during Corbett’s 1993 tour.
Corbett joined the Army in January 1990, aged 17, and served tours in Lebanon in 1991, 1993 and twice in succession in 1997. He said three incidents led to his condition: seeing a South Lebanese Army member killed by a mine; a later mine explosion that killed Israeli soldiers and wounded a fellow soldier; and a helicopter crash in 1997 that killed everyone on board, including an Irish sergeant he did not know.
The judge found Corbett had not seen the helicopter crash or its wreckage at the time, and that he saw only a glow from the burning wreckage. He also found that the description Corbett gave to psychiatrists, particularly Dr O’Connell, substantially exaggerated what he had witnessed. The judgment noted that Corbett had not sought assistance from his officers or non-commissioned officers for symptoms he said included sleeplessness and poor appetite after the 1991 incidents. It also recorded that he was promoted to corporal in 1997 and that a military doctor found him psychologically fit at the end of a tour.
The court accepted that the Army had a duty, so far as circumstances allowed, to provide soldiers with appropriate training and support to cope with traumatic events. But the judge found Corbett’s commanding officer had responded appropriately after the first 1991 incident, and rejected his contention that his treatment after either mine explosion or the helicopter crash was deficient. The judge also found the Army could not have identified a condition at the time that would have led to future psychiatric or psychological problems, and that Corbett showed no signs of the condition when he returned from Lebanon in April 1998.
The judge concluded that Corbett’s claim must fail. The judgment does not specify any damages or other relief; the operative outcome stated is dismissal of the claim.