A "false impression" had been created by a claim in the Irish Independent that an Army commandant had received compensation of £80,000 from the State for post-traumatic stress disorder, the State argued in the High Court yesterday.
Comdt Adrian Ainsworth (42) had claimed damages not for post-traumatic stress disorder itself but for the failure to treat it, said Mr Liam Reidy SC, for the Minister for Defence. The officer had also claimed damages for hearing loss and future loss of earnings, and the £80,000 award took into account all aspects of the claim.
In the High Court yesterday Mr Reidy raised a report regarding Comdt Ainsworth's case in Tuesday's Irish Independent. The report was headlined: "Army hero wins claim for battle stress disorder".
Mr Reidy told Mr Justice Johnson: "The settlement took into account all aspects of the claim. The paper's headline and the content of the article are on a false impression in so far as it bases its article on the fact that any soldier who suffers battle stress disorder is entitled to compensation."
Mr Reidy said the Irish In- dependent featured a case as being settled for "battle stress disorder". However, the Minister had asked him to make it clear that the claim involved a number of issues. There was a claim for hearing loss as a result of noise exposure; one for future loss of earnings; and one for damages for failing to treat the post-traumatic stress syndrome.
"The claim, insofar as it was being advanced, would have been contested by the Minister but it was a claim not for posttraumatic stress syndrome but a claim for failing to treat it."
Mr Alan Mahon SC, for Comdt Ainsworth, said the case had been settled and could be struck out. His solicitor had asked him to state that none of the information in the article came from him or his client. Mr Justice Johnson said he took it that the matter would be reported in the proper venues and manner.
Comdt Ainsworth was one of three Irish peacekeeping personnel awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry following a gun battle in south Lebanon in 1980. Private Derek Smallhorn and Private Thomas Barrett were killed in the incident in which Irish troops were under fire for eight days. One of the soldiers died in Comdt Ainsworth's arms.
Comdt Ainsworth, a son of a former deputy Garda Commissioner, Mr Joe Ainsworth, is currently serving with an FCA unit in the Western Command in Mullingar. He was diagnosed in 1996 as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.