THREE years after her husband died in a rail crash a Liss widow has hit out at Railtrack for implying it is about to make large compensation payments to the families of those who died in a rail crash earlier this year.
Catherine Wood, whose husband Simon died in the October 1999 Ladbroke Grove crash, still does not know how much compensation will be paid to her and her two daughters.
ÒThere are 15 other families in the same position,Ó she said, Òand it will be the same long process for the PotterÕs Bar crash relatives as it is for us. It is wrong for Railtrack to imply that it will be paying large sums of compensation promptly.
ÒI work part-time and we have received limited compensation from the insurers of Thames Trains. We wonÕt starve, but I have my daughters, Chantal (15) and Coralie (13), to think of and the future for all three of us.
ÒIt is difficult enough emotionally, although we know Simon would have wanted us to carry on with our lives and we want to get on with them. But this is like a shadow hanging over us all - it needs to be finished.
ÒEvery scrap of detail relating to our finances, and particularly an assessment of what Simon could have been expected to earn during his career, has been gone into.
ÒIn the next few weeks my solicitors will issue writs in the High Court against Railtrack and Thames Trains. But it is very likely that the insurers for both companies will contest the amount claimed against them.
ÒIt could still take some time and, of course, the limited compensation already paid by Thames Trains will be subtracted from the final settlement.Ó
Mrs Wood attended most of Lord CullenÕs inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove crash and fully supported the recommendations in his report on signal siting, driver training and track layout.
ÒBut the recommendations are not legally enforceable,Ó she said. ÒIf they had been perhaps the families of the Hatfield and PotterÕs Bar victims might have been spared our anguish.Ó