Lone workers claims £100,000 damages

Prosecutions and Claims |
01.03.2006

A television repair worker who was knifed while attending a call-out is suing his employer for damages for not protecting him adequately while he was working alone. John McGinnes claims that  Endeva Service had cut staff numbers and removed a requirement for staff to work in pairs in unsafe areas.  McGinnes was returning to his vehicle from a repair call in the Easterhouse district of Glasgow on 23 June 2003 when he was attacked  and stabbed several times. McGinnes had worked for Radio Rentals for more than 20 years before the company merged its repair business with Granada to become Endeva Service. At the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 17 February he claimed the new company had ended previous practices designed to protect workers visiting high-risk areas, such as sending them in pairs and using unmarked vans.

Endeva Service (which has since gone into receivership) denied failing to take reasonable steps to ensure McGinnes' safety and claimed engineers often visited Easterhouse without problems. The judge, Lord Emslie, will rule on the case at a later date.