Army veteran wounded in Afghanistan wins 1 million zloty compensation from Polish defence ministry

In a landmark ruling, a court has ordered Poland’s defence ministry to pay almost one million zloty (€225,000) to an army veteran severely wounded during an attack while serving in Afghanistan 13 years ago.

The case involving Sergeant Franciszek Jurgielewicz is one of nine brought by injured veterans that the defence ministry has been fighting in court, reports news service Onet. Though the ministry can appeal the ruling, Jurgielewicz’s lawyer has urged it not to cause “further suffering”.

Jurgielewicz suffered his injuries on 15 May 2010, while serving as part of the Polish forces stationed in Afghanistan. An armoured personnel carrier he was commanding was attacked by rebels with grenade launchers.

Jurgielewicz was hit in his right leg, which had to be amputated as a result, and he also lost the use of his left leg, which was hit by shrapnel. The soldier suffered significant damage to his vision in both eyes and severe post-traumatic stress.

His basic treatment lasted 28 months, but since then Jurgielewicz has required constant care and regular medical treatment. While he received half a million zloty and a military pension of 4,144 zloty (€936) a month, he says this has not been enough to cover his needs.

“I am a single man who can no longer support himself,” Jurgielewicz told Onet. “I used to run a farm. Today, I have to hire people for all kinds of work. I am unable to drive a car, so every trip to Warsaw for rehabilitation involves paying not only for fuel but also for a driver, and I live more than 300 km from the capital.”

In 2015, in a previous case brought by Jurgielewicz, Warsaw’s court of appeal ruled that wounded veterans are entitled to fair money for their injuries. Separately, Jurgielewicz launched a claim for over 2 million zloty from the defence ministry.

This week, a district court in Warsaw awarded him 953,000 zloty – 600,000 zloty (€135,485) in damages and 353,000 zloty (€79,710) in interest calculated from 2015.

“The amount of compensation awarded is high, but nothing will make up for the harm, pain and suffering he experiences daily,” said the veteran’s attorney, Piotr Sławek, quoted by Onet. “He is unable to function independently and…requires assistance with basically all activities of daily living.”

The defence ministry can appeal the ruling, but Sławek urged it not to, saying that such a “decision will once again humiliate a severely injured veteran”.

“It cannot be that the defence ministry, which has a multi-billion annual budget, shirks from making amends to people who have given their health in service to the country,” said the lawyer.

A Polish military contingent functioned in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2021 as part of the US-led NATO mission launched in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At its peak in 2010-2011, the Polish forces there numbered almost 2,600 soldiers.

Main image credit: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej/Wikimedia Commons

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.