Posted By Grant Dixon Hello all. My best friend's father died recently because of an accident at work. He was the long standing engineering manager in the merchant navy who was at sea for up to eight months at a time. He was using an angle grinder when the blade split at the centre, hit the floor and came up into his face before hitting the ceiling. He was not critical but required medical attention, however it was two days before he could be air-lifted to receive the required medical attention somewhere in the middle east. Although the the attention he received went well, in recovery he suffered a stroke, suffered brain damage and died. My friend and his family seem to be facing resistance from solicitors and feel that because of the financial issue the truth and justice will not be done. My questions are these. Would it be British legislation that covers this incident? If not, which legislation is it? Would there be an independant enquirey and investigation to the accident? If so, whom would conduct it? Does anyone have any further advice? Thank you for your time

Posted By Rob T What flag was the ship flying? The situation may be different depending on which country the ship was registered in. There will be recourse to law and regardless of the country of origin, Private International Law will apply if suitable country laws are considered to be 'forum non conveniens' but this will have to be decided by a UK court if he was a UK national.

Posted By Rob T bloomin' heck that's thrown me! If you'd said Liberia or Panama I may have been at least able to start you on the right track. I'm sorry I have absolutely no knowledge of the laws of the Isle of Man (or their status with regards to the UK which is more to the point). Over to you guys in the Isle to try and help Grant. Sorry.

Posted By Grant Dixon Neither, the boat was out at sea. The country he was air-lifted to was Oman.

Posted By Kevin Walker Sorry to hear about this but you may find some of the information you are looking for at: http://www.imo.org/home.asp which is the international maritime organisation which covers safety etc kevin

Posted By Raymond Rapp Grant Just to add a different slant, the company policies and procedures should include the type of scenario that you have described. Not that all situations can be foreseen. Presuming however, that the company is registered in the UK, then their procedures probably reflect UK law. If, procedures are not in place or were not followed, then there may be case to answer - if only a civil claim. Food for thought? Ray

Posted By Paul Adams As a Chief Engineer, he was probably a member of NUMAST, which would be a very good starting point. Even if not, they should be able to point you in the right direction. www.numast.org