Negligence cases grow
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by Patric Cunnane • Hauliers accused of negligence face paying huge amounts in damages in more than 2,700 cases being pursued by transport unions on behalf of injured drivers.
Settlements could be well over £100,000 in cases where drivers are confined to wheelchairs for life, say unions. The Transport & General Workers' Union, with 2,407 cases outstanding, blames poor vehicle maintenance.
"Up to a third of accidents are because of the condition of the vehicle," warns TGWU legal expert Fergus Whitty.
He points out that the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 puts an obligation on employers to ensure drivers' safety away from the depot. Section Two of the Act specifies that an employer has a duty of care for its employees while they are at work. In the past, the TGWU has won damages for thousands of injured drivers.
The United Road Transport Union has filed 300 cases of negligence this year alone against transport companies. Some of the accidents are seasonal, says URTU generalsecretary David Higginbottom, involving drivers who slipped on wet surfaces while loading or unloading tankers or tippers.
Higginbottom believes employers could do a lot more to ensure the safety of drivers at work—he believes many would rather run the risk of damages than invest in safer equipment. Tankers, for example, should have guardrails to prevent drivers falling, claims Higginbottom. "In these cases we intend to seek exemplary damages," he says, "on the grounds that safety equipment is not being used when it is available."
A series of new Health & Safety Regulations were introduced in 1992 in response to six European Community directives on safety. Employers are obliged to carry out risk assessments of their operations, including assessments of risks to people not employed by the company.
Self-employed owner-drivers are not exempt; they must carry out exactly the same procedures, assessing the risks to themselves. In companies with more than five employees risk assessment findings must be recorded.
See Employment Matters feature in next week's Commercial Motor.