Crash victims must be compensated, says EU judge

PEOPLE injured while travelling in vans or other vehicles not intended for passengers must be compensated, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice decided yesterday.

Irish woman Elaine Farrell was refused compensation by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland following an accident in 1996 because the van in which she was travelling was not designed to carry passengers.

Under an existing EU directive, passengers must be compensated in such circumstances, but the directive had not been implemented by Ireland.