Offshore worker with career-ending shoulder injury secures life-changing compensation

Mr Finlayson was 13 days into his rotation on a North Sea platform when he suffered an agonising injury that ended his offshore career.

The 32-year-old from Fife was part of a four-man team of roughnecks engaged in a completion tubing running operation – where oil and gas is brought from the seabed to the surface.

The task involved moving 130kg pipes into position via an automated machine, but when the machine was unable to operate correctly the team were told to manoeuvre the pipes by hand which meant the roughnecks would have to lift the pipes up over head level.

One of the team raised concerns but the job supervisor dismissed the protest and the team were instructed to continue – but midway through the task Mr Finlayson felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

He said: “We all knew we shouldn’t be doing this. It was causing all sorts of problems.

“We did what we could but we were basically told to just get on with it.”

The injury meant Mr Finlayson was put on paperwork duties for the remaining seven days of his rotation and when he returned home from the Buzzard Field – the area of the North Sea where the jack-up oil rig was based – he met medical consultants in Edinburgh.

An MRI scan confirmed Mr Finlayson had a rotator cuff injury in his shoulder that would need surgical treatment – a process that left him in constant pain and fatigued.

Even worse, the initial surgery failed resulting in a more complex operation the following year.

The medical prognosis concluded that he would not be able to return to work as a roughneck and was unfit for any job that required full shoulder mobility.

Mr Finlayson said: “My youngest son was one at the time of the accident and I couldn’t lift him anymore. I couldn’t help my wife with things around the house – I felt useless.

“I used to take my kids swimming, play golf and coach my sons football team, but the accident changed all that.

“It was very depressing.”

After researching reputable lawyers with extensive knowledge in the offshore industry, Mr Finlayson came to Digby Brown’s offshore injuries team.

Neil Davidson, Partner in our Aberdeen office and head of the specialist team, took on the case and investigated the circumstances of the incident.

Neil gathered key witness evidence from the roughnecks in Mr Finlayson’s offshore crew to confirm what happened as well as the medical evidence needed to prove the resultant injuries.

From there, Neil built a case which argued those responsible for the Maersk Innovator platform failed to conduct proper risk assessments that would have prevented the incident.

Mr Finlayson’s employers denied fault and disputed his version of events – they initially said he did not hurt himself during the task but injured himself in the rig gym the following day. Maersk also argued Mr Finlayson’s work contract fell under English law and tried to suggest he didn’t even have a right to raise a legal action in Scotland.

However Neil assured him this was not true and a court case was duly – and rightly – raised in the All Scotland Personal Injury Court.

Raising a court case meant Maersk could now not avoid the claim. Maersk made various allegations about Mr Finlayson’s ability to work which were unsubstantiated – like suggesting he WAS fit to keep working offshore, which Neil’s medical evidence confirmed was not accurate.

Despite their argument, Maersk still made an offer to settle the claim but - based on the evidence - Neil knew the offer was too low as it failed to reflect all of Mr Finlayson’s losses so the offer was rejected.

Two weeks before the court hearing was due to begin Maersk reached out with additional settlement offers. Finally, an offer THREE TIMES MORE than the first was received.

Neil knew this was more like it – this was fair – and he advised Mr Finlayson to accept as it would be in line with what they expect to recover even if the court hearing went ahead, so he happily accepted.

Mr Finlayson concluded: “I was amazed at the lengths my employer went to in order to shift the blame.

“For me, making a legal claim was about getting them to put their hands up and admit they were in the wrong.

“I knew straight away from speaking to Neil that he was the right person to help me - I felt he understood my situation and I knew he would do a great job. He fought tirelessly for me and I can’t thank him, and his team, enough.

“I’m really happy with the outcome and can put that whole chapter behind me now.”