Lorry driver sues Specsavers for £200,000 after a ‘botched’ eye check noticed him lose his job and plunge into melancholy

A lorry driver who claims he was plunged into depression and fears he may never work again after a ‘botched’ eye test is suing Specsavers for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Francis Hodibert, 62, from Slough, in Berkshire, says he was told he had failed a compulsory eye test for HGV drivers at Specsavers in 2022. 

In documents lodged with the High Court in London, Mr Hodibert says it meant his livelihood was taken away after the DVLA removed his ability to work as a trucker. 

This caused him to become so depressed and anxious that he worries he may never be able to work again. 

The DVLA requires HGV drivers to pass not only the distance eyesight test which is part of a standard driving test – but to also undergo an in depth assessment of their visual field and peripheral vision using a specially designed machine.

Mr Hodibert claims that after taking two such tests in 2022 at his local Specsavers in Slough, he was told he had failed the visual field test and subsequently had his HGV licence taken away.

He regained the licence six months later after passing another visual field test, which was carried out by a consultant ophthalmologist in January 2023.

However Mr Hodibert claims to have suffered serious emotional damage after his license was initially revoked following the ‘botched’ eye test.

Francis Hodibert, 62, claims the emotional toll of having initially lost his HGV licence despite regaining it six months later left him so depressed that he fears he may never work again

He says the damage had already been done despite regaining his licence and that the shock of initially having lost it had impacted his mental health – as well as his work and personal life. 

The truck driver claims the eye test failures in 2022 were the mistakes of Specsavers staff, with his lawyer alleging ‘negligence’. 

In court papers, his barrister, Michael O’Neill, says: ‘The defendant is engaged in the provision of professional optical services to the public and in particular of visual field testing, as required by the DVLA for the assessment of fitness to drive heavy goods vehicles. 

‘On 10th April 2022 and on 21st May 2022, the claimant attended at the defendant’s Slough branch to undergo visual field testing for the maintenance of his HGV licence.

‘Following such testing, the defendant reported superior field defects, as a consequence of which the claimant’s licence was revoked by the DVLA in September 2022.

‘The said results were inaccurate and, following separate tests carried out by a consultant ophthalmologist on 25 January 2023, the claimant was able to appeal the revocation of his licence and the same was reinstated following the provision of a new eyesight certificate on 31 March 2023.

‘The obtaining and reporting of the said inaccurate results and the consequent revocation of the claimant’s HGV licence were caused by the negligence of the defendant, its servants or agents.’  

Mr O’Neill accused Specsavers staff of ‘carrying out their field of vision tests so as to produce false results’ and ‘submitting an inaccurate report to the DVLA’, adding: ‘Because of all this the claimant has suffered personal injury, loss and damage.’ 

Pictured: The Specsavers branch in Slough, Berkshire, where Mr Hodibert took the ‘botched’ eye tests

He said: ‘[Mr Hodibert] has developed a worsening mixed depression and anxiety disorder as a result of the matters herein complained of.

‘His condition is such that he is unable to work as an HGV driver or at all and his personal and domestic life has been substantially disrupted.

‘It is uncertain that he will ever make a sufficient recovery to work again.’  

The barrister added that Mr Hodibert says he has been examined by a doctor who has submitted a medical report to the court backing up his claim for ‘damages exceeding £200,000’.

Specsavers’s defence to the action was not available from the court at the time of writing. 

However the company is set to deny the claims, telling the Daily Mail it will defend the case.