Former INXS guitarist Tim Farriss is reportedly suing a Sydney boat hire company over a “career-ending” injury which saw him sever his finger back in 2015.
Throughout the 35-year career of Australian rockers INXS, Tim Farriss was known to most as the lead guitarist of the group, responsible for some of the most iconic riffs heard throughout the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.
However, recent years have seen the guitarist’s future in doubt, with a horrific accident in 2015 resulting in him severing his finger. Now, the music icon is taking legal action against a Sydney boat company he claims is responsible for the injury.
Back on Australia Day of 2015, Farriss had been on the water in Pittwater Bay when his left ring finger was caught in the boat’s anchoring equipment, severing it completely.
“I don’t know if I will be able to play properly again,” the guitarist was quoted as saying at the time.
Check out ‘New Sensation’ by INXS:
Now, more than four years on, 7news reports that Tim Farriss has launched a lawsuit against John William Axford and Jill Mary Axford of Church Point Charter, claiming that the rental boat’s operators are responsible for the injuries he sustained.
“I will never forget what I saw next as long as I live,” Farriss claimed in his statement for the case that will be heard before the NSW Supreme Court.
“My hand was covered in rust, blood and mud, but I could see one of my fingers had been severed and the others were disfigured, badly lacerated and bleeding.”
“I find my reattached ring finger to be an annoyance and unsightly. I have considered having it amputated,” Farriss continued. “I am no longer able to play guitar other than a few beginner-level chords.”
The lawyers for Tim Farris argues that there was foreseeable risk of injury to an individual handling the boat’s anchoring equipment. However, Church Point Charter operators counter that Farriss had indeed been given proper instructions, but did not operate the anchor in accordance to the guidelines.
“If (Farriss) suffered injury, loss or damage (which is not admitted), the defendants say such loss and damage was caused or contributed to by the first plaintiff’s own fault and negligence,” the defence explains.
Check out ‘Just Keep Walking’ by INXS:
