Andrew Lucas died during the trip to the Picos de Europa

The family of a teenager who died after a fall from a mountain five years ago have settled their legal claim against the trust that organised the expedition.

But Andrew Lucas’s parents have criticised the Brathay Exploration Trust’s delay in agreeing the payment.

Aileen and Howard Lucas of Lincolnshire have been pursuing their claim against the Ambleside-based organisation since their son died when he fell 1,000ft down a cliff face in northern Spain in July 2009.

The trust agreed to settle the case recently, ahead of a High Court case that had been scheduled to last six days. Brathay Exploration Trust, which was formerly known as Brathay Exploration Group, did not admit liability in the settlement.

Aileen Lucas said: “Andrew died a few days after his 17th birthday, whilst taking part in a Brathay expedition to the Picos de Europa mountains.

“At the inquest into his death held in May 2010, the coroner Stuart Fisher was highly critical of Brathay, saying: ‘Had an exhaustive risk assessment been carried out and had the outcome been carefully communicated to the members of the expedition, then this tragedy could have been averted’.

“After a number of other disturbing facts came to light after Andrew’s death, we initiated our legal claim for the statutory bereavement award of £11,800 in May 2012. At the same time, we offered Brathay an opportunity to settle for a reduced sum, which would have avoided the need for any further legal action.

“In mid-July of this year, lawyers for Brathay finally accepted our 2012 offer, just a few weeks before our case had been scheduled to be heard in court.”

Brathay Exploration Trust agreed to pay the Lucases £8,000, but also faces a large legal bill.

Howard Lucas said: “With regards to the legal costs, we are still waiting for the final figure from our lawyers. However, we know that it will be a significant figure; I would estimate it to be probably in the region of £80,000.

“As part of the settlement, all our legal costs will have to be paid by the defendants.”

Mr Lucas said most of the costs were incurred after the family’s initial offer to accept a reduced payment.

Mrs Lucas said: “No explanation has been given by Brathay for the long delay in settling this claim.

“The intervening period has not only resulted in us incurring significant legal costs, which will now have to be covered by Brathay, but it has also amplified the pain and anguish caused to us by Andy’s death.

“However, we are pleased that belatedly, Brathay have agreed to respond to our claim.”

Malcolm Tillyer, chairman of the Brathay Exploration Trust, said: “Andrew’s death was a tragic accident and the horror of what happened will stay with those involved for the rest of their lives.

“Our thoughts and prayers have always been with Andrew’s family and friends, who suffered such a terrible loss.

“While there will always be learning from such a tragedy, we have agonised over what happened and genuinely believe that any procedural changes would not have saved Andrew.

“At Brathay Exploration Trust we regularly review our systems and processes to ensure that our expeditions meet or exceed the stringent safety standards.

“Andrew’s case was handled by our insurers and it was their decision to settle without admission of liability.

“Since 1947 Brathay Exploration has taken over 10,000 people on over 700 expeditions. We have always been and will continue to be committed to ensuring that our expeditions are run as safely and professionally as possible.”

Andrew’s parents were critical of the rigour with which the expedition was certified to BS8848 standards by an outside body. The rating, named after the height in metres of Everest, is the British standard for organising and managing visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities outside the UK. It has recently been updated.

Mr Lucas said: “We remain convinced that 8848 is a great tool, but if used or applied incorrectly, then as we have seen, the consequences can be profound.

“Regrettably there appears to be little to dissuade organisations from abusing 8848, given the huge expense of civil litigation and the lack of any oversight body, especially one with the ability to effect some kind of penalty on the guilty party.

“In our case, if we had lost, we would have been totally wiped out, financially speaking.

“That we won is due, in no small part, to the good fortune that we chanced upon a team of knowledgeable, honest and capable lawyers. It is worth noting that we did ascertain that they were all experienced walkers or climbers, before engaging them.”

• We have been asked to point out by the Brathay Trust that the Brathay Exploration Trust has no connection with the Brathay Trust charity, which works on youth development projects and is also based at Brathay Hall, Ambleside.

• Mr and Mrs Lucas have drawn grough’s attention to the following statement made by the Brathay Exploration Trust chairman on 3 June 2014 and published on that organisation’s website:

Collaboration with Brathay Trust

I have previously mentioned that we are starting to develop closer collaboration with Brathay Trust.

The relationship continues to flourish – Jim Evans, a senior member of the Trust’s staff, is now one of our Trustees and is likely to lead a 2015 expedition to Greenland.

Another staff member, Scott Troughton, is leading this year’s expedition to Norway. Jim and Scott also made use of their climbing skills to clear the huge build-up of moss from the roof of Shackleton Lodge! Brathay Trust’s Chief Executive, Godfrey Owen, is keen to build on the partnership and we are considering ways in which our activity overlaps so that we can integrate what we do.

We are considering joint fundraising activity and Rotha and Tony will soon be moving into Brathay Trust’s office accommodation.

These developments are a very positive move forward and will enable us to grow and to become a more professional and resilient organization.