A tram driver who suffered injuries to her left shoulder and ribs after a bus crashed into the side of the tram she was driving has secured £5,000 in compensation with the help of ASLEF, the train driver’s union.

Alison Dungate was driving over a busy intersection in Croydon in September 2008 when a bus drove into the front left-hand side of the tram with such force that it was derailed.

The impact forced Alison from the driver’s seat causing her to dislocate her collar bone and damaging her ribs and the tendon in her left shoulder as she gripped onto the tram handle in the centre of the cabin.

Unable to work for two months due to injuries

The 64-year-old was left unable to work for two months and had to undergo a course of physiotherapy to help her to recover from her injuries.

Following the accident Alison contacted her trade union, ASLEF, who instructed Thompsons Solicitors to investigate a claim for compensation.

Alison said: “It takes over 60 tonnes to derail a tram, which gives some indication of the speed the bus was travelling at. The repair work to the tram took over 12 months to complete and I have been left with on-going trauma as a result of the accident.”

High impact crashes are hugely distressing for the victims

Mick Whelan, general secretary, ASLEF, said: “High impact crashes such as this are hugely distressing for the victims whose expectations of having a routine day at work are never the same again.”

Helen Williams, a solicitor from Thompsons, said: “This was not just physically damaging for our client but has affected her confidence which it was important to have recognized as part of the case.”