Glasgow bin lorry crash driver 'misled' GP over medical history

Harry Clarke was unconscious at the wheel when the bin lorry went out of control, killing six people

The driver of a bin lorry which crashed killing six people misled a GP about his medical past, a court has heard.

Harry Clarke collapsed while at the wheel of a Glasgow council bin truck that killed six pedestrians and injured a dozen other people in December 2014.

Glasgow City Council is suing First Bus, Mr Clarke's former employers, over a job reference the firm provided.

Another medic said, had he known the truth about a previous case, he would have deemed Mr Clarke unfit for work.

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On the first day of the Court of Session hearing in Edinburgh, Roddy Dunlop QC, representing First Bus, and Andrew Smith QC, representing the local authority, took witness statements from medical professionals linked to Mr Clarke and his former employers.

The hearing heard from Mr Clarke's GP, Dr Gerard McKaig.

'Much fuller investigation'

Mr Clarke told Dr McKaig that he fainted in a warm canteen building in April 2010, but it later transpired that he had lost consciousness behind the wheel of a stationary bus, the case heard.

In his witness statement, the GP said had he known about Mr Clarke fainting behind the wheel of a bus, he would have "warranted a much fuller investigation" into his health at the time.

The Glasgow City Council bin lorry crashed killing six people on 22 December 2014

Witness statements were also given by the former clinical lead for Bupa's occupational health services in Scotland, Dr Peter Warnock.

Dr Warnock told the hearing that had he been made aware of Mr Clarke's loss of consciousness behind the wheel in 2010, he would have deemed him "unfit for work" until a health investigation was carried out to the DVLA's satisfaction.

A 2015 inquiry into the incident heard the tragedy took just 19 seconds to unfold.

(Clockwise from top left) Jack Sweeney, Lorraine Sweeney, Erin McQuade, Jacqueline Morton, Stephenie Tait and Gillian Ewing were killed in the bin lorry crash

Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton; Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow; and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, died in the crash.

A further 15 people were injured when the Glasgow City Council truck veered out of control.

It travelled along the pavement in Queen Street before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.

The hearing continues.