Scaffolders tried to claim thousands in compensation after a council van collided with their lorry – at less than 2mph.
Town hall chiefs faced the threat of a £70,000 bill following the bump in slow-moving traffic.
The driver and two passengers in a lorry owned by S&S Scaffolding Ltd claimed they suffered whiplash in the collision with the van, and launched personal injury claims totalling £3,700.
The company, based in Atherton, near Wigan, also submitted a £6,430 claim for damages to the vehicle and for its ‘loss of use’.
Wigan council accepted blame for the collision but refuted both compensation claims and challenged the legal costs.
Now a judge at Bolton County Court has dismissed the action after hearing from two expert witnesses.
One, an independent engineer, said that the damage sustained by the lorry would have cost no more than £300 to repair.
And an eyewitness said both vehicles were travelling at between one and two miles per hour.
District Judge Shaw ruled that no injuries or any significant damage was caused and described the claim for the van’s damage and its loss of use as ‘wholly wrong’.
He also dismissed a legal bill of more than £50,000 and ordered that the council did not have to pay the £300 repair bill to the van. The council was awarded £9,332.
Council bosses today welcomed the ruling and said local authorities across the country were facing an increasing number of ‘grossly exaggerated’ claims involving low-speed road traffic collisions.
It was also revealed that the firm, based at Chanter’s Industrial Estate on Arley Way, Atherton, had carried out work on behalf of the council in the past.
The collision took place in Tyldesley, near Wigan, in 2008.
The lorry’s driver James Stubbs, of Henley Grove, Bolton, and passengers Thomas Gemmell and his son Gareth, of Hinkler Avenue, Bolton, brought the claim alongside the company.
Paul McKevitt from Wigan council said: “Local authorities across the country are facing an increasing number of claims from people who say they were injured in low speed impacts but this council is determined to scrutinise all allegations in order to protect public funds.
“It’s particularly disappointing, as this company has done work for the council in the past, and grossly exaggerated claims such as this are damaging to trust and future working relationships.
“The facts just didn’t stack up and by putting a coherent and persuasive defence before the court we have saved the council tax payers of this borough more than £70,000 of public money.”
“We hope this verdict sends a clear message that we will do all we can to protect public money and any claims that appear exaggerated will simply not succeed.”
The company refused to comment.
Mr Stubbs and Gareth Gemmell couldn’t be reached for comment. Thomas Gemmell declined to comment.
