Widow awarded £1.3m after cyclist husband killed in Perthshire bin lorry crash

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A widow has been awarded more than £1.3m in damages over the death of her RAF veteran husband who was killed in a bin lorry collision while out cycling.Jurors decided Katrina Ronald should receive compensation of £1,319,750 from Perth and Kinross Council for her loss.On May 25, 2018, William Ronald (46) had been cycling on the Greenknowes to Watergate Farm Road near the village of Cleish when his bike collided with a council refuse truck.The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard how Mr Ronald, of Kelty in Fife, had been trapped under the vehicle and that medical staff had tried in vain to save his life.The court was told that the collision between Mr Ronald and the bin lorry took place on a blind bend on the road.However, jurors concluded that Mr Ronald did act negligently in the lead up to the collision.They decided that he was 58 per cent responsible for the collision and that the council employee driving the bin lorry was 42 per cent responsible.This means the damages awarded to Mr Ronald’s family will be reduced by 58 per cent.Mrs Ronald (55), also of Kelty, also sued on behalf of her daughter Honey.The court heard how the 12-year-old struggles with grief and sleeps every night with her father’s ashes which are stored in a teddy bear.The jurors concluded that Honey should be awarded £95,000 and two other members of Mr Ronald’s family will receive £67,500 each.Mrs Ronald wept as she relived the moments after she learned of her husband’s death.She said telling Honey was “the worst thing I’ve ever had to do”.Jurors heard how accident investigators recovered a bike computer from Mr Ronald’s bicycle which showed that he was travelling at 16mph in the moments leading up to the collision.The computer also showed that he was