Posted By JAI A friend of mine has a number of vans his staff use to go to different sites for work, the vans have no seats in the back only the front. On the way to one of the sites they get a phone call from the apprentice who has missed his bus so the driver decides to pick him up only there are no seats left in the front so he sits in the back The inevitable happens the driver brakes; apprentice falls forward and cuts his knee on equipment A claim has ensued, The company has a policy for not allowing staff to travel in the rear of vans and feel there was no more we could have done And the apprentice took it upon himself to enter an area knowing he was not allowed to Can anyone offer some help in trying to defend this case? or opinions please Jai

Posted By jackdaw I think you will find that it is pitched in a slightly different way: the driver of the van picked him up, and allowed him to sit in the back of his van. The driver is responsible for his van and the passengers within it, therefore the employer is vicariously liable for the accident. As for defending the claim; what records do you have to demonstrate that the apprentice was instructed that he couldn't sit in the back of the van? Is the sitting in the back of the van common practice or was this a one-off? Do management do something about situations when they know people sit in the back or do they turn a blind eye, thus condoning the practice? The only way to defend the case is to show evidence that the company did all they could reasonably do to prevent people going in the back of the van - I don't think simply writing an instruction does it. In my limited experience the best outcome would be contributory negligence, so the apprentice is partly to blame (age of the apprentice may have a bearing), and the payout is less. The insurers will want to give a few hundred out-of-court settlement I would have thought.

Posted By Glyn Atkinson Do you have a vehicle use policy signed by all users including the apprentice that no pasasengers can be carried in the unseated rear of the vehicle? If not, then I feel from my personal company claims experience that you are paying out for an injury claim. Did the apprentice have sufficient knowledge to assess if the lift was viable, particularly if under 18 years of age ? Is the driver his direct supervisor and would he be expected to obey an instruction - "I'll pick you up then"? My opinion would be that liability will be proven in this case.

Posted By JAI Thanks for all your information i will take the comments on board, but it does look like i will be advising an out of court settlement Jai