An elderly woman who was hurt when a bus driver pulled away from a stop before she had a chance to find a seat has been awarded a five-figure sum in compensation, BBC News reports.
Mary Steel, 82, fell and injured her shoulder on the McGill’s coach, which was travelling from Braehead shopping centre in Renfrewshire, Scotland to Dunoon, in May 2013 – an incident her lawyers said had caused her pain, depression and loss of interest in her hobby of baking.
A judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh said the driver was at fault and the Scottish bus firm was liable. Judge Lady Stacey ruled that Steel was entitled to compensation and ordered McGill’s Buses to pay her a sum of £10,000.
Judge Stacey agreed that the bus driver should have taken greater care and waited until the woman had sat down.
“In doing so he acted contrary to the defenders’ policy and in breach of common law,” she said.
“The movement of the bus while the pursuer was not seated caused her to lose her balance and fall. I find the defenders liable to the pursuers.”
McGill’s Buses is Scotland’s largest privately-owned bus company, operating a fleet of around 350 buses across more than 40 routes, primarily in the Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire areas.
The firm, which is part-owned by Rangers FC chairman Sandy Easdale, employs about 700 staff at the company’s four depots in Greenock, Inchinnan, Johnstone and Barrhead.
