A Royal Marines french horn player left deafened by mumps is suing the Ministry of Defence, claiming her condition could have been prevented had she been given the MMR vaccine.
French horn player and vocalist Corporal Linsey Matthews, 40, was struck down by mumps in October 2014 while training for deployment to Sierra Leone, causing dizziness, facial swelling and hearing loss in her left ear.
Two years later, Cpl Matthews was restricted from serving in any operational area due to her deafness and now has ‘no hearing in her left ear’, is plagued by ringing in her ears and balance issues, and is due to leave the forces this year.
Cpl Matthews, of Latch Park, Edinburgh, is now suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for more than £200,000 damages, claiming medical officers should have taken more stringent steps to ensure she was fully covered by two doses of the MMR vaccine, which guards against measles, mumps and rubella.
But the MoD is denying all liability, insisting it carried out comprehensive checks and that medical records have in fact revealed that Cpl Matthews received mumps vaccinations in 2002 and 2005.
French horn player and vocalist Corporal Linsey Matthews, 40, was struck down by mumps in October 2014 while training for deployment to Sierra Leone
No date has yet been fixed for the full hearing of her claim, but her case recently reached London’s High Court in a pre-trial face-off between her lawyers and the MoD over the scale of her compensation claim and the effects of her condition on her future career.
Mumps can cause temporary hearing problems in around one-in-25 cases, with rare incidents of permanent hearing loss occurring in one-in-20,000 cases, according to the NHS website.
Cpl Matthews went to the Royal Marines School of Music on her enlistment in 2002 and has since been a professional musician within the forces, playing at high profile concerts including at the Royal Albert Hall.
But her barrister, Paul Kilcoyne, claimed military authorities ‘failed to screen for mumps and to administer the vaccine’, although MoD lawyers strongly dispute any fault.
Cpl Matthews planned to carry on as a royal marine beyond 2024, said her barrister, and could even have stayed on until the age of 55.
‘The question is what is this musician going to do, given that she now has some deafness?’ he said.
In court documents, Mr Kilcoyne claimed there was ‘no evidence’ that the MoD vaccinated Cpl Matthews for MMR after she joined up, adding: ‘Upon enlistment on September 2 2002, she was not offered full MMR immunisation or a single dose for mumps.’
And in her subsequent time in the Royal Marines, there was no initiative to check that she had received the right level of cover or to provide vaccination.
This alleged failure breached regulations to stringently check personnel immunisation records and provide the right level of cover, the barrister argued.
Mr Kilcoyne added: ‘The claimant developed mumps in 2014 as a result of the negligence of the defendant, its servants or agents failing at the time of the claimant’s enlistment in 2002 to make appropriate checks to confirm whether or not the claimant had received MMR1 and MMR2 vaccinations*(and) failing to administer the MMR1 and MMR2 vaccinations at the time of enlistment or thereafter.
‘The documentary evidence at the time of enlistment was unreliable. At its best, there was anecdotal evidence through a letter attached to the file that there had been a single MMR dose on 27th May 1988.’
Cpl Matthews, of Latch Park, Edinburgh , is suing the Ministry of Defence for more than £200,000 damages, claiming medical officers should have taken more stringent steps to ensure she was fully covered by two doses of the MMR vaccine
Cpl Matthews’ partial deafness has drastically affected her musical career, revealed Mr Kilcoyne, causing her problems hearing other horn players even with her listening aids.
‘Her role as a vocalist is severely compromised and she has been left with poor balance,’ he added.
‘The hearing loss is problematic and causes difficulty in her playing in the band. She has developed tinnitus. She currently uses a hearing aid system.
‘The injury has affected her long-term military career and she is handicapped on the open labour market.’
However, defence lawyers say Cpl Matthews’ medical records indicate that she was given the MMR vaccine when aged five, while later records also suggest she received further mumps vaccinations in 2002 and 2005.
On top of that, they say military authorities were not required to screen for MMR immunisation back in 2002 – but only for rubella – and that medical officials in Cpl Matthews’ case followed ‘standard practice’ at the time.
‘It is denied that the defendant had any obligation to check whether or not the claimant had received either one or two doses of the MMR vaccine,’ argued MOD barrister, Daniel Laking, in its defence to the claim.
‘The policies in place at the time mandated only a check for rubella vaccination.
‘Further and/or alternatively, it is averred that the defendant did make appropriate checks to confirm that the claimant had had an MMR vaccine as it obtained information which confirmed the claimant had received it on May 1988. The defendant had no reason to doubt that information.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, it is averred that one dose of the MMR vaccine was deemed sufficient in 2002, consistent with the policies in place at the time and standard practice.’
The MoD says Cpl Matthews must also prove that she contracted mumps while on service, and that this in fact caused her deafness.
The case will return to court for a full trial of the claim at a later date.