A NORTH-EAST soldier who suffered serious injuries when a US tank transporter rammed her vehicle in Iraq is suing the American military.

The £1.2m claim, made by Corporal Jane McLauchlan, 33, from Hartlepool, along with two other soldiers from the Royal Military Police and an Army interpreter, is believed to be the first brought by coalition troops against the US Army since the invasion of Iraq.

She suffered multiple skull fractures, fractured neck vertebrae, a punctured lung, broken leg, ribs and pelvis, and a damaged liver when she was thrown from the marked Land Rover she was driving. It was hit by a US Army tank transporter and overturned on May 7 last year.

She was airlifted to a field hospital in Iraq, then treated at a US hospital in Kuwait before being flown by the RAF to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. She still has some degree of permanent brain damage, including memory loss.

Cpl McLauchlan is bringing the claim with her commanding officer and front-seat passenger, Staff Sergeant James Rogerson, who also suffered lasting injuries, and back-seat passengers Corporal Stephen Smith and Kuwaiti interpreter Khalid Allahou.

The three soldiers are represented by North-East law firm Tilly, Bailey and Irvine, which is instructing US attorney Michael Doyle.

Court documents filed by him last week in Washington claim that the transporter struck the Land Rover twice from behind, eventually forcing it off the road, near the southern Iraqi town of Safwan.

British military police investigated the accident and handed their documents, which included a traffic report suggesting the US driver had failed to see the Land Rover, to the US authorities.

But Mr Doyle says in a letter to the US Army's claims service that the American military has since said it has no records and that there is no investigation.

"Given the significant ongoing consequences of this incident, our clients are naturally concerned as to these indications," he writes.

Cpl McLauchlan, whose husband Rob is also in the military police, has returned to work and is now stationed in Hanover, Germany. She gave birth to a son, Nathan Maddison, in April.

But her mother, Pat Maddison, of Spalding Road, Hartlepool, said yesterday that her daughter could not carry out the same duties as before because of lasting injuries.

She said: "She's still got some shoulder trouble and other bits and pieces.

"At this moment, I can't comment on the legal action."

A US defence spokesman said: "It's the defence department's policy not to discuss any legal activity against the department."

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: "It's a private matter between the individuals concerned and the US army claims department.

"Individuals are free to bring private claims and they are not required to seek prior permission from the MoD or their chain of command."

Meanwhile, a Territorial Army medic has been offered a settlement of more than £3,500 after he was injured on duty in Iraq.

Corporal David Corrigan, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, tore cartilage in his left knee in April last year while serving with the Parachute Regiment as a paramedic.

In August, the 44-year-old threatened to sue the Army for clinical negligence but has since been offered a full settlement package.

Such deals are usually only offered to regular soldiers and Cpl Corrigan believes he was offered the package because he was given unsuitable medical treatment that further damaged his knee.

He said that despite several operations, including one costing more than £2,000 from his own pocket, he relies on painkillers throughout the day and has been put on indefinite leave from his job as paramedic with the North-East Ambulance Service.

Cpl Corrigan, who served in the Territorial Army for 22 years, said: "It was never about the money for me, it was about exposing the negligence that could leave me unable to do my job as a paramedic."