Offshore accident secures £725,000 with specialist lawyers

David Upton was injured working offshore as a crane technician for the oil industry. Whilst he was on board a vessel in the Congo, he fell down a set of stairs on the crane due to dirt and grease on the staircase.

“It was like walking on a skating rink, it was that slippy. There was a drain in the corner but it was always blocked, the stairs were badly maintained.

“The injuries from the accident were life changing, it finished my career as I can’t go back offshore now.”

My lawyer needed to know their stuff

With his employer being a Singapore registered company, and the vessel being owned by an international company with headquarters in Paris, Mr Upton knew he needed a lawyer that was an expert in international offshore injury claims.

“It was important that the lawyer that took on my injury claim understood the legalities of what happened. It was a non UK company I worked for and the accident happened in Africa – my lawyer needed to know their stuff.

“The communication from Digby Brown was really good, anything I asked was answered and they were available when I needed them.”

Specialist offshore injury lawyers at Digby Brown

Mr Upton was helped by our Foreign and Travel department which has extensive experience in settling offshore accident claims. 

The key issue in this personal injury case was preparing for the argument that the employer was incorporated in Singapore and the accident occurred in the Congo.

We argued that control actually went through their Aberdeen office in Scotland and the vessel was managed by a Scottish company, so Scottish law actually applied in this case.

There were also arguments in relation to the down turn in oil and gas and retirement ages in the industry.

By obtaining the right expert for the employment report and retirement age, we were able to achieve full compensation for Mr Upton.

Injury compensation £725,000 for offshore accident

The employer’s insurers eventually made an initial offer of £271,320 but this was rejected. After further negotiations, Mr Upton received £725,000 in compensation for his injuries.

“I don’t think I would have got as much without Digby Brown’s involvement. I would recommend Digby Brown without a doubt.”