Dozens of drivers, including hospital staff, could be sued for payment of fines issued by the operators of Ninewells Hospital car park after a landmark ruling at Dundee Sheriff court.
Three nurses from Ninewells Hospital have been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in parking fines following Sheriff Lorna Drummond’s ruling.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond ruled in favour of Indigo Park Services UK Ltd, which operates the car parks at Ninewells, after the company sued the nurses for unpaid parking fines and recovery charges amounting to £4,077, plus expenses.
The civil action is seen as a test case for drivers refusing to pay parking fines at Ninewells Hospital and Sheriff Drummond’s judgment is now expected to lead to dozens of other drivers, including Ninewells employees, being sued for payment through the courts.
The nurses had claimed the recovery charges were exorbitant and the signs containing information about terms and conditions were unclear.
They had also challenged Indigo Park’s entitlement to charge the fines and recover charges as the original agreement for the car park was between NHS Tayside and Vinci Park.
The action against student nurse Conor Watson for the offences in 2016 was by a company called Indigo Infra Dundee Ltd, the new name for Vinci Park, which later changed its name again to Indigo Park Services UK Ltd — which the nurses claimed rendered the claims incompetent.
Mr Watson was being sued for £1,085, made up of eight separate parking fines of £40, plus eight times the recovery charge of £96.
An advocate acting for Mr Watson admitted he had parked in car parks five and six at Ninewells without a valid ticket and was willing to pay the £320 outstanding.
Mr Watson admitted he had not read the terms and conditions on the signs but believed the £40 would cover any recovery costs.
However, the sheriff decided the matter of whether Indigo Parks had title to sue had not been raised at the appropriate time and had been put forward only at the hearing stage, therefore the company did have title to raise the court action.
She also rejected the claims by the nurses that the signs were not clear and ruled that the charges were enforceable and not exorbitant.
In the other cases, aside from some small differences, the same tests were used and the sheriff ruled in the same way.
In each case, the nurses said they could not afford the annual parking permits, or that they were unsuitable for their shifts or placements.
Paediatric nurse Nicola Meachan had parked in Westgate car park, which is permit only, and in the Maternal and Child Health car park, which is pay and display.
She had been fined seven times and charged each time for recovery costs, amounting to a total of £952.
The other respondent, clinical nurse Julie Lindsay, who has worked for NHS Tayside for nearly 30 years specialising in breast cancer care, had paid for parking tickets, but had been fined on 15 occasions for overstaying in the car park due to her shifts running late because of the demands of the service.
She works at Ninewells in the mornings and Perth Royal Infirmary in the afternoons, so a parking permit was not suitable for her needs.
Ms Lindsay will now have to pay the total of £2,040, plus expenses, to the company.
Both Mr Watson and Ms Meachan declined to comment when approached.
Ms Lindsay could not be reached for comment.
Ninewells is one of only three hospitals in Scotland where visitors still must pay for parking.
NHS Tayside is locked into a long-term contract with long-term contract with Indigo to operate the car park.
But the health board is to meet Dundee politicians on September 29 for crunch talks about the car park following a spate of complaints about unfair fines.
