Offshore worker doubles compensation with Digby Brown

Digby Brown’s Aberdeen office, specialist in claims involving the oil and gas industry, recently represented an individual who suffered an accident whilst working at an Oil Rig in the North Sea, off the coast of Aberdeen.

Impact of offshore work injury

The client sustained a fracture to his left ring finger.

Loss of earning for four months

Although a relatively minor accident, the client was left hand dominant, and as such, he was unable to work for four months and lost out on earnings during this time.

Pay for taxi’s to and from appointments

In addition to losing earnings, he was forced to pay for taxis to get to and from medical appointments as he was unable to drive due to his injuries and lived in a rural location. 

Help with everyday tasks

His family also had to help him with everyday household chores such as cooking, cleaning and ironing, as he struggled to carry these out himself.

On-going lack of sensation in fingers

After some time, he regained full use of his finger and was able to return to work but he still suffers from a lack of sensation in the tip of his finger today.

Contacted Digby Brown to make an offshore claim

The client did not realise that he only had three years to make a claim for compensation following an accident.

As such, he only approached Digby Brown Solicitors for advice almost three years after the accident occurred.

Court action raised for offshore injury claim before three year time period expired

Our Digby Brown Aberdeen team had to act quickly to raise a court action against the client’s employers and the operators of the oil rig at the time of the accident before the three year period expired.

Experience in offshore claims to correctly identify the parties responsible

The team is experienced in managing offshore claims, including claims involving different companies.

As such, they were able to correctly identify the operators of the oil rig and the client's employers at the time of the accident and raise a court action before the three year time limit, preserving the clients right to seek compensation.

Initial compensation offer of £5,000 rejected

An initial offer of £5,000 was made to settle the claim. However, upon our advice this offer was rejected by our client.

Doubled work injury compensation

In the end, the case settled for £10,000 after settlement negotiations, double that of the original initial offer.