TfL settles first claims from Croydon tram crash at £900,000

In a Freedom of Information request from Post, TfL said it has accepted liability in relation to civil claims from the derailment of the tram. 

The incident, in November last year, killed seven people and left 16 seriously injured. TfL said it would be forced to bear the property damage costs for the tram itself.

The authority is insured by several carriers, with QBE the fronting insurer. But it would self-insure property losses as “as the cost of the damage is unlikely to exceed the deductible”.

The tram was travelling from New Addington to Wimbledon when it derailed and overturned at a junction Croydon. According to earlier reports, there were seven fatalities and 58 other injuries.

However, as of 13 July 2017, TfL said: “76 personal injury claims, including claims arising from fatalities, have been received or notified.”

The authority said the £900,000 payout to date include medical costs as well as settlements.

It said: “The claims which have been settled, the interim payments and costs such as medical support which are being met daily total in the order of £900,000 to date.”

It is not known whether the authority will self-insure the personal injury claims. A spokesman for QBE declined to comment.

TfL declined to put a final figure on the total projected claims costs, adding: “The claims are not yet at a stage where they have been quantified.”