Andrew Morgan has secured
settlement for a UK citizen who was seriously injured in a work
accident at the South Pole.
Michael Langton was employed by Raytheon Polar Services (NZ)
Limited as an engineer on a summer contract at the South Pole. He
was injured when a ball bearing valve assembly failed.
The ball bearing shot out under pressure striking Michael's
right hand causing immediate blood loss and trauma to his right
arm. He was evacuated by emergency flight to Christchurch, New
Zealand, for treatment. He was told that amputation was a real
risk.
Luckily, his arm was saved after emergency surgery in which he
received 70 stitches.
The injury prevented Michael working as a heavy engineer for
about two years, so he and his family suffered a loss of income.
Because of his injury Michael could not continue working at the
South Pole and so returned to Switzerland where he was domiciled
with his wife and son. He contacted Andrew
Morgan for advice and made a claim.
The employer's insurers were based in Scotland and they
instructed solicitors in London to handle the claim. They refused
to pay any compensation for Michael's life threatening injuries on
the basis that, because he entered employment in New Zealand,
Michael was covered by New Zealand's "no fault" compensation
arrangements, known as the "ACC", so that he was not entitled to
any compensation.
Andrew advised Michael that because he was not a New
Zealand citizen, and because the accident did not happen in New
Zealand, he was not covered by the scheme and was not entitled to
make a claim.
However, there is no court which is universally recognised as
having jurisdiction to deal with negligence claims arising at the
South Pole. Instead Andrew pursued a claim in New Zealand for
breach of Michael's employment contract.
Michael won the argument that he was not covered by the ACC
scheme and
was entitled to make a claim.
Andrew then negotiated a final settlement with Raytheon for an
undisclosed amount of compensation
for Michael.
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Andrew Morgan says:
"Even at the best of times Antarctica is an inhospitable
environment within which to live and work. Workers face isolation
and access to emergency medical services cannot be guaranteed.
"It is a fundamental right that people who are injured at work
are entitled to financial redress and support, either through
compensation awarded by the courts or through a statutory
alternative.
"The particular injustice faced by Mr Langton was that because
he was a UK citizen he did not have access to the long term
benefits of the ACC scheme but Raytheon denied that he was entitled
to be awarded compensation through the courts either. Happily he
was successful in challenging his employer".
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Raytheon employs up to 600 people at the South Polar Base during
the summer months in addition to hundreds of other staff at the
McMurdo and Palmer Bases, operating at temperatures as low as minus
80°c in the winter months.
For For further information or if you have a work accident claim, please contact
Andrew
Morgan on 020 7861 4036 or email
andrew.morgan@ffw.com
You can discuss your international
injury claim with any member of our personal injury team on freephone 0800
358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry
form.