A student who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder following the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy has been refused compensation.
Danielle Weddle witnessed parts of the incident – when a refuse vehicle mounted the pavement and caused the deaths of six people – in December 2014.
But a court said that as she wasn’t hurt, she wasn’t a primary victim and didn’t qualify for damages.
At the All-Scotland Personal Injury Court, Sheriff Kenneth McGowan ruled Glasgow City Council could not have reasonably foreseen that lorry driver Harry Clarke would have caused the risk of physical injury to Danielle.
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Sheriff McGowan said she hadn’t suffered fear of physical injury to herself at the relevant time and therefore didn’t qualify as a primary victim. She also couldn’t obtain damages for psychiatric injuries.
Sheriff McGowan added that had he found in Danielle’s favour, she would have awarded £214,572.40 for compensation, loss of earnings and university fees.
Danielle was on her Christmas break from her final year at Stirling University on the day of the crash. She was in Glasgow city centre and had been looking at her phone when the lorry hit a taxi.
In January 2015, she was referred to counselling after continuing to suffer from flashbacks and anxiety.
