The husband of one of those caught up in the East Sands chemical leak has revealed that he plans to sue Fife Sports and Leisure Trust for their handling of the incident.
Furious Terry McGeadie, 60, has launched legal action against the trust following what he calls their “chaotic” reaction to Tuesday’s accident which saw 19 swimmers taken to hospital after a system failure led to them being exposed to chlorine.
Terry’s wife and grandson as well as his daughter and son-in-law were all evacuated from the water following the leak.
Mr McGeadie, of Largoward, said he will sue for costs incurred and the stress he has been through.
He claims his family were forced to stand in the cold for 90 minutes in their bathing suits while waiting for the emergency services a claim the trust insist is invalid as they feel it is the responsibility of ambulance staff to provide comfort blankets.
The former journalist said: “Legal action has been taken by me. I intend to sue privately. I think my daughter and son-in-law will be suing as well.
“My wife suffers from ill health but she and my two-year-old grandson were left outside for 90 minutes without a blanket.
“My wife collapsed today and I’m certain it’s linked to the aftermath of what happened.
“I want answers and to make sure that no child goes through what my grandchild went through.”
Aside from his intention to sue, Mr McGeadie has made an official complaint to Police Scotland over claims he was misled by an officer present at the scene of the accident.
A police spokesman said: “We can confirm that Police Scotland have received a complaint in connection with an incident on St Mary’s Street, St Andrews.
“We will now undertake a thorough investigation into this complaint and the complainer will be informed of the outcome.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Digby Brown Solicitors, which is representing a number of individuals following the incident, said: “Our work on this matter has just commenced so we are not in a position to discuss it further at this stage.”Trust praises staff and emergency personnel responseA Fife Sports and Leisure Trust spokesman said: “Ongoing investigations into the incident at East Sands Leisure Centre have indicated that Fife Sports and Leisure Trust staff acted promptly and followed the emergency action plan successfully.
“All customers were escorted out of the building safely, without the aid of emergency services and trust staff were the last to leave the building once they were sure all customers had been escorted to a safe point within the site.
“Feedback from the Health and Safety Executive and emergency services in attendance have also backed up the actions of staff in their handling of the incident given the authority of these organisations in dealing with emergencies, we are happy with their assessment of the day’s events.
“The trust has also been in receipt of a number of comments from customers who were in the centre at the time of the incident, they have been wholly positive and complimentary towards staff for their support and care on the day.
“Both customers and staff were evaluated by Scottish Ambulance Service on site and 19 people, including two trust staff members, were referred on for further medical checks.
“Most people who were caught up in the incident were patient and understood that emergency services needed time to follow through with procedures while investigations were carried out.
“It is our understanding that Mr Terry McGeadie was not actually present at the centre at the time of the incident.
“We are sorry that the interpretation of the situation by his family members, who were actually there, seem to be contrary to the experts and majority of customers who were involved.
“We have had no other feedback which would back up his allegations or description of events.
“Once again, we’d like to thank the emergency services for their support and the fantastic work of our staff we’d also like to thank those customers who have come forward to compliment the actions of staff.”