Van driver claims post-traumatic stress following 'tiger' kidnapping

A security van driver has claimed before the High Court that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression as a result of his crew being asked to hand more than €1m to a work colleague whose wife was the victim of a 'tiger' kidnapping.

Mr James Eakins (aged 62) with an address at Greenhills, Dublin 12 has sued Securicor Security Services Limited for damages as a result of the alleged psychiatric injuries he suffered following the robbery of a security van at a service station in Carlow on January 17, 2007.

In his action Mr Eakins claims that his then employers failed to provide him a safe working environment, a safe system of work a safe place to work, and had no regard for his health and safety while he was carrying out his duty.

He claims that he was exposed to unnecessary risk of personal injury and psychological injury, and had not received adequate training.

The defendants denied the claims.

Opening the case Richard McDonnell SC for Mr Eakins, who worked for the company for six years, said that the robbery took place around the morning while the securicor van he was driving was making a delivery to an ATM at a petrol station.

He said that his client was approached by a work colleague, Bernard Hogan who was not working that day. He asked them to cooperate with the gang to ensure his wife's safety. Mr Hogan's wife Ailish had been kidnapped from the couple's home the previous night.

The money was taken from the van and placed in a car, which was driven from the scene. Counsel said that more than €1m was obtained by the gang. The van contained €2.5m, and counsel said that a number of robberies of securicor vans had taken place around the time.

Counsel said that evidence would be given that had certain security measures been in place at the time then the robbery could have been prevented. Counsel said that these measures would have made a robbery an unattractive prospect for criminals.

Mr Eakins told the court that following the robbery he became less outgoing, and did not go out much. He said that alarm on his house was on all the time whereas before it was never on that much.

He was off work for seven weeks and told the court that he was unable to sleep and suffered from a loss of appetite, and required medication.

He claimed that the only training securicor had given him about tiger kidnappings was that they had shown him a video. He also stated that at work a picture of a tiger was posted on the wall in the canteen.

He said that any workers whose family were in the process of being subjected to tiger-type kidnapping were to touch the tiger, which would alert staff to a problem.

He also told his counsel that he was dismissed by securicor for a breach of procedure two years ago, but currently works for a different security company.

The case before the President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns continues.