A cash in transit guard shot during a robbery should have been given body armour by his employers, the Court of Appeal has said.
Geoffrey Henser-Leather, 62, of Bingley. lost a kidney and part of his liver when hit by a bullet. It is still lodged in his spine. He refused to hand over cash at a petrol station in Leeds in 1995. Mr Henser-Leather?s original damages claim against Securicor Cash Services was dismissed by Leeds County Court last year. In the Court of Appeal Lord Justice Kennedy overturned the ruling. He said that Securicor were in breach of their common law duty of care by not providing body armour to staff at their Bradford branch. Quoting the 1992 Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, Lord Justice Kennedy said that security firms had obligations to assess risks and make sure that staff have suitable body armour. How much compensation Mr Henser-Leather will be given is unknown. The GMB union which includes security officers has hailed the verdict in its campaign for CIT staff to have body armour.
