A BID to force the former employers of the driver behind the Glasgow bin lorry crash to pay almost £1 million in compensation to a victim’s family has failed.
Glasgow City Council previously agreed to pay compensation for a number of damages claims made by the families of the six people killed and 15 injured when the bin lorry hit shoppers in the city centre.
A fatal accident inquiry found lorry driver Harry Clarke lost consciousness at the wheel before the crash on December 22, 2014.
The local authority claimed that as the First Glasgow bus company had offered a reference when he moved to the council it had a duty of care to the casualties, which the bus firm disputed.
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Now, in a written judgment, Judge Lord Ericht said the court action on these grounds has failed.
The case centres on a settlement the family of victim Stephenie Tait reached with the council for £903,714.44 following the death of the 29-year-old from Glasgow.
The council launched action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh for First Glasgow to reimburse it for the full amount.
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The council argued the bus firm had a duty of care for Tait, as an employment reference – now lost – failed to disclose Clarke had previously lost consciousness behind the wheel when working for them. If this information had been disclosed, the council said it would not have employed him as a driver due to the “danger” posed.
The bus company said the claim was irrelevant, arguing when an employer gave a reference it did not mean the company had a duty of care to anyone with whom the employee might interact with while working for the new employer.
Lord Ericht found it would not be “just, fair and reasonable” to impose this duty of care, as it could have led to employers being no longer prepared to give references, as they could be put at risk of being liable to “a great number of unknown persons”.
The judgment adds the council is now pursuing a claim for negligence against First Glasgow.
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “This is a matter for our insurers and it would inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
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