Relatives of Glasgow bin lorry crash CAN claim for damages

A judge has ruled that damages actions brought by relatives of some of those killed in the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy can proceed despite a failure in the legal process.

Lord Doherty said they would be "very materially prejudiced" if he refused to exercise his power to allow the claims against Glasgow City Council to proceed.

The judge said: "The probable consequences would be very significant upset for the pursuers and material delay in obtaining reparation."

"That upset and delay would be likely to have significant detrimental effects on the pursuers' mental health," he said.

The eight relatives brought the action for compensation against the local authority after the bin lorry driven by Harry Clarke left the road in Glasgow city centre on December 22 in 2014 and travelled along pavements before coming to a halt near Queen Street Station.

51 year-old Jacqueline Morton and 29 year-old Stephenie Tait from Glasgow, 18 year-old Erin McQuade and her grandparents 68 year-old Jack Sweeney and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, from Dumbarton and 52 year-old Gillian Ewing all died. Others were injured.

The Crown decided not to prosecute Clarke and efforts by relatives to bring a private prosecution were refused.

The eight were granted an order at the Court of Session in Edinburgh preventing publication of details leading to their identification. One has a guardian and in another case an executor of a relative who died after the incident is suing.

The relatives raised an action against the local authority in December last year but it fell after the summons was not called within three months and a day of it passing the signet.

A further action was raised in June this year and the local authority maintained that the present claims were now time barred.

Lawyers acting for the relatives argued that the court should exercise its powers to allow it to proceed.

Lord Doherty was told at an earlier hearing that if the action was allowed to go ahead liability was not in dispute.

The judge gave verbal reasons why he would let it proceed but then produced a written judgement as the council has raised an appeal.

It was agreed that delay may have a significant effect on the relatives' psychological condition and particularly with one who has developed serious mental health problems.

It was also agreed that while the summons was lodged with the court a calling slip was not presented because of a procedural oversight which was "a genuine error".

The local authority was in due course seeking to recover the damages from another party but they would refuse to entertain any possibility of reimbursement if it was allowed in by "the back door", the court was told.

A clinical psychologist, Dr Alison Harper, who assessed some of the relatives, said they were struggling not only with the impact of the deaths but the stress caused by the continuing legal case.

She said: "In my opinion, failure of the defenders (the council) to accept responsibility for compensating the pursuers on the basis of a technicality would exacerbate feelings of anger and injustice."

Lord Doherty said that the failure to have the summons in the initial action called in time was an oversight but apart from that the relatives' lawyers appeared to have acted "in an exemplary way".

The judge said that if the application to the court to allow the action to proceed was not granted the relatives only course for redress would be to bring a case against the solicitors.

Lord Doherty said: "My assessment is that an action of professional negligence against the solicitors would be very likely to succeed."

But he said they would have to find new representation in a process that was likely to be "difficult and challenging" for each of the relatives in the action.