The case of an employee left paralysed when he crashed after working long hours was a warning to all employers that they have to take work-related road safety seriously, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said today.
A 23 year-old kitchen fitter was flung from his van after momentarily falling asleep at the wheel. He had begun work at 3.30am, fitting two kitchens 122miles apart. The accident happened as he drove home at 10.15pm.
The Court of Appeal has ruled he can sue his employers for damages and has awarded him an interim payment of £400,000. His final award will be reduced by 33 per cent because of his own contributory negligence in not wearing a seatbelt and knowing he was at risk of falling asleep after working 19 hours.
Between 800 and 1,000 deaths a year on Britain's roads have been linked to people being at work at the time. More employees are killed while at work on the road than in all other workplace accidents put together with fatigue being a major cause of road crashes
Companies and employers need to be sure that their employees are in a fit condition to drive and have had adequate quality sleep before getting behind the wheel according to ROSPA.
I am staggered that this excessive workload was authorised in the first place. A 19- hour day. That’s despicable!
Jackie Violet - FemaleFirst