Woman breaks wrist and VTEC accept liability

[syorksdeano]

Rail operator ‘deeply sorry’ after Yorkshire pensioner falls off train and breaks wrist

A pensioner hospitalised after falling from a railway carriage when the staff assistance she pre-arranged failed to appear has been given an apology by a train operator.

Grandmother Sheila Branch, 67, from Pickering, who suffers from chronic knee pain when descending stairs, suffered a broken wrist, severely bruised ribs and was knocked unconscious after falling as she tried to disembark without help.

Virgin Trains East Coast, which runs the service from York to Peterborough, has now admitted liability over the fall in May, this year, after Ms Branch took legal action against them. The train operator has apologised for the incident but a compensation figure has yet to be agreed.

Ms Branch, a retired nurse, said: “I started to panic when I realised there was no one there to help me and I was stranded. I knew the next stop was London King’s Cross and I didn’t want to be stuck there. I couldn’t see any other passengers in the carriage to help me so I thought to myself that I had to get off. The next thing I remember was waking with the taste of blood in my mouth and a searing pain down my right side. I’d really banged my head and felt very hazy.”

Ms Branch has now called for train operators to put in place safeguards to ensure vulnerable passengers who request assistance are met by staff when they arrive at their destination.

She added: “It’s just not acceptable to abandon passengers. Surely it’s not impossible to have a system where staff at the destination are aware of which carriage you’re in, which seat, what time the train’s arriving and make sure someone is there to meet you.

“This incident has really shaken my confidence. At my age a fall like this can have serious consequences. My memory seems to have been affected by banging my head.”

Ms Branch booked her advanced ticket in January and told staff she would need assistance with stairs and getting off carriages. She re-confirmed when she arrived at York to begin her trip that help would be on hand at Peterborough.

It is understood a member of staff was sent to assist Ms Branch at the station but did not know which part of the train she was on as he had not been provided with the details by his colleagues.

As a result, when the pensioner tried to leave the train there was no-one there to help. Incidents where information about passengers seeking assistance are not provided to staff are a problem across the industry, though Virgin Trains has admitted being at fault for failing to rectify the problem when it occurred.

Ms Branch’s lawyer Sarah Davidson, of Slater and Gordon, said: “Train operators owe all passengers a duty of care – and that’s particularly important for vulnerable, disabled and immobile travellers.

“In this case Virgin Trains East Coast failed to take adequate measures to ensure the journey was safe for Sheila.

“She suffered quite serious injuries but they could have been far worse. We hope this is a wake-up call and the company will take steps to ensure something similar doesn’t happen to another passenger.”

A spokesman for Virgin Trains East Coast said: “We’re deeply sorry about Sheila Branch’s experience which we fully accept should not have happened. We will learn from this unfortunate incident to improve our service for all our customers.”

Virgin Trains East Coast took over the running of the line between London and Edinburgh in March after it spent five years under state control.

The firms’s website provides information about how people can get assistance for their journey if needed.

It says: “We make sure everyone who’d like assistance during their journey gets all the help they need. Whether you book in advance or not, we’re there to help.”

Source

Must say that when assistance is booked it can be hit and miss, but who is to blame?

 

[Darandio]

Removed, now all quoted above. ^^^

 

[najaB]

I don't want in any way to say this was the lady's fault as VTEC have correctly admitted they were liable, but I wonder if there wasn't any way she could have attracted the attention of the staff member who was looking for her?

 

[Geezertronic]

Isn't it that VTEC are accepting liability on behalf of DOR as they would have been still running EC in May? I can't remember when VTEC took over

 

[Darandio]

VTEC took over in March.

 

[FQ]

How would the staff know which coach though?

Hopefully she will be ok though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't want in any way to say this was the lady's fault as VTEC have correctly admitted they were liable, but I wonder if there wasn't any way she could have attracted the attention of the staff member who was looking for her?

I bet she didn't use the passcom, which would have been a sensible thing to do, for fear of being fined. (Did anyone *ever* get fined even for blatent misuse of it?)

 

[syorksdeano]

I've had to on a number of occasions book assistance for the mother in law and it has been very hit and miss.

2 weeks ago she came up from Oxford with assistance booked. No problem at Oxford yet when she got to Sheffield no sign of any assistance (which is unusual).

On her return journey Sheffield couldn't have been more helpful, yet when she got to Oxford no sign of any assistance.

Personally I wouldn't offer my mother in law (who is a short arsed dragon who I can't stand) any assistance, but especially at Sheffield station the sooner she is on that train back home the better

 

[PHILIPE]

My sympathies with the lady concerned and pleased to see that VTEC have admitted liability.

 

[LowLevel]

How unfortunate

Communication is still a real problem. Apparently at our place we are trialling a phone app that tells train crews the full details of any assistance bookings on their train with seat reservations, misc requests etc. Not sure how it is going but it sounds a positive step.

The key is always to make sure the person makes it to a safe waiting area whether you're an assistant, the dispatcher or even the guard. You can then manage the situation accordingly.

 

[Hadders]

Isn't it that VTEC are accepting liability on behalf of DOR as they would have been still running EC in May? I can't remember when VTEC took over

VTEC took over on 1st March.

It actually wasn't a change of company as is normal at a franchise change.

East Coast Mainline Company was the official name of the company when it was owned by DOR. It is still the name of the company now. What happened was that Stagecoach/Virgin acquired the share capital of the company.

This is why we still see some trains carrying East Coast branding - there was no need to de-brand as technically it's the same company.

 

[Aictos]

How unfortunate

Communication is still a real problem. Apparently at our place we are trialling a phone app that tells train crews the full details of any assistance bookings on their train with seat reservations, misc requests etc. Not sure how it is going but it sounds a positive step.

The key is always to make sure the person makes it to a safe waiting area whether you're an assistant, the dispatcher or even the guard. You can then manage the situation accordingly.

We have something similar, it's called Genius Mobile and you can find this info plus make bookings yourself on it.

 

[sheff1]

How would the staff know which coach though?

It should be very simple indeed.

The staff assisting the passenger at the origin station make a note of the coach and seat number. They then phone (or preferably text/email) the destination station with the details.

To take a belt and braces approach, the guard could also have the details so that they could attract the attention of staff at the destination if they are not attending at the right coach.

 

[Oliver]

I've had to on a number of occasions book assistance for the mother in law and it has been very hit and miss.

My mother-in-law regularly travels between Wakefield and Exeter St Davids, and I book assistance online. Coach and Seat are always known both ends and the service has always been good.

 

[daikilo]

It should be very simple indeed.

The staff assisting the passenger at the origin station make a note of the coach and seat number. They then phone (or preferably text/email) the destination station with the details.

To take a belt and braces approach, the guard could also have the details so that they could attract the attention of staff at the destination if they are not attending at the right coach.

In this case I understood she did not need help boarding so there was probably no one assigned to check where she was sitting...... Learning point?

 

[theironroad]

I think assistance was discussed at length recently on another thread, though thanks to op for highlighting this case.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Not going to replicate what Iv said in the assistance thread (maybe these should be merged) but from my and my Wifes experience and appologies to anyone here who works for them but East Coast, Virgin or otherwise and NatEx before them are and were without fail crap at assistance. Turning up with a booking or arriving unannounced makes no diffesence and the öly acception to this seams to be NCL. Its v poor. Sorry

 

[sheff1]

In this case I understood she did not need help boarding so there was probably no one assigned to check where she was sitting.

The article says she reconfirmed at York that help would be on hand at Peterborough. Meaningful confirmation could not be given unless the person at York noted where she would be sitting and checked with/advised Peterborough accordingly.

 

[Skimble19]

Not going to replicate what Iv said in the assistance thread (maybe these should be merged) but from my and my Wifes experience and appologies to anyone here who works for them but East Coast, Virgin or otherwise and NatEx before them are and were without fail crap at assistance. Turning up with a booking or arriving unannounced makes no diffesence and the öly acception to this seams to be NCL. Its v poor. Sorry

Sorry but I have to completely disagree with your last point. Turning up unannounced is never a good idea unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. Booking is very simple to do, and means you can guarantee somebody will be available to help you. Too many passengers turn up at the last minute and expect somebody to almost just be standing around waiting in the vein hope somebody might turn up for them to assist - and I'm sorry but it just doesn't work like that. A lot of the time it will still be possible to get assistance but that isn't the point, booking makes it easier for passengers, the staff and the company and ensures a minimal amount of mistakes can be made.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Glad VTEC has accepted responsibility and apologised to the lady concerned.

I see from the report above they couldn't ignore the compensation side of things, trying to be nosey!

Regards

 

[jamesst]

I've had to on a number of occasions book assistance for the mother in law and it has been very hit and miss.

2 weeks ago she came up from Oxford with assistance booked. No problem at Oxford yet when she got to Sheffield no sign of any assistance (which is unusual).

On her return journey Sheffield couldn't have been more helpful, yet when she got to Oxford no sign of any assistance.

Personally I wouldn't offer my mother in law (who is a short arsed dragon who I can't stand) any assistance, but especially at Sheffield station the sooner she is on that train back home the better

Haha beat comment I've seen in ages on here!! I know your pain,I just tell my evil mother in law the trains aren't running...

 

[Wolfie]

Haha beat comment I've seen in ages on here!! I know your pain,I just tell my evil mother in law the trains aren't running...

When she's on her way to you, not when she's on her way home I assume

The latter would be an epic fail...

 

[bb21]

Sorry but I have to completely disagree with your last point. Turning up unannounced is never a good idea unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. Booking is very simple to do, and means you can guarantee somebody will be available to help you. Too many passengers turn up at the last minute and expect somebody to almost just be standing around waiting in the vein hope somebody might turn up for them to assist - and I'm sorry but it just doesn't work like that. A lot of the time it will still be possible to get assistance but that isn't the point, booking makes it easier for passengers, the staff and the company and ensures a minimal amount of mistakes can be made.

I think what Blindtraveller is getting at is that booking assistance makes no difference in his experience with EC, compared to turning up on the day, because service was that bad.

Not that he is advocating not booking ahead.

 

[Bayum]

Sorry but I have to completely disagree with your last point. Turning up unannounced is never a good idea unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. Booking is very simple to do, and means you can guarantee somebody will be available to help you. Too many passengers turn up at the last minute and expect somebody to almost just be standing around waiting in the vein hope somebody might turn up for them to assist - and I'm sorry but it just doesn't work like that. A lot of the time it will still be possible to get assistance but that isn't the point, booking makes it easier for passengers, the staff and the company and ensures a minimal amount of mistakes can be made.

And in turn have to completely disagree with your first point.

The whole reason for this thread and the incident at Peterborough was because assistance was already booked. Assistance should have been guaranteed but wasn't provided as you incorrectly state above, and other posters have confirmed with their own experiences.

 

[misterredmist]

Poor Lady, hopefully she'll be the last victim for a long time to come