Widower wins damages after fatal collision

A man whose wife was killed after being hit by a bus while she was at work in Perthshire has been awarded damages following a civil court action.

Rachel Cassells died after being struck in the car park of the Trossachs Woollen Mill in Kilmahog, near Callander in April 2015.

Her husband Douglas took coach firm Allan’s Group and his wife’s employers Edinburgh Woollen Mill to court.

It is understood a six-figure sum was awarded in damages.

Mr Cassells paid tribute to his “vibrant, loving” wife following the court ruling.

He said: “The loss of my wife is something I’ve struggled with every day since the incident and it’s something that will affect me for the rest of my life.

“The court process has helped me heal a little in terms of bringing about some answers.

“But nothing will change the fact that Rachel is not here, nor can anything or anyone replace her.”

In her written judgement, Lady Carmichael said that Mrs Cassells, who was 50, was working as a general catering assistant for Trossachs Woollen Mill at the time of the incident.

The single-decker coach, which was being driven by Brian Alexander, was carrying tourists and stopped at the Trossachs Woollen Mill on the way back to Edinburgh.

The Court of Session was told that as Mr Alexander was preparing to park, the vehicle struck Mrs Cassells.

Lady Carmichael said: “I found it established on the balance of probabilities that Mrs Cassells was upright when the bus started moving, and that had Mr Alexander been exercising reasonable care he would have seen her and been able to avoid the accident.

“I found that the second defenders knew of, permitted, and, to some extent at least, encouraged Mrs Cassells’ practice of greeting buses in the car park.”

Lady Carmichael said that Mrs Cassells’ employers “failed to take reasonable case for her safety” and “their failure was a material cause of the accident.”