INXS guitarist Tim Farriss loses bid for damages after career-ending hand injury

Tim Farriss has learned whether he will receive damages for a career-ending hand injury suffered seven years ago.

INXS guitarist Tim Farriss has lost his court action for the career-ending hand injury he suffered seven years ago during a pleasure cruise on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Farriss had sued the owners of the Omega Clipper 34 for damages after the ring finger of his left hand was severed when caught in a mechanism as he tried to fix kinks in the anchor chain.

He launched action in the NSW Supreme Court against the boat owners William Axford and Jill Mary Axford of Church Point Charter in 2019 claiming he would never be able to play with INXS again or write music on guitar after the accident.

INXS bandmates Kirk Pengilly and Tim Farriss of INXS attend the 2020 ARIA Awards. Picture: Getty

Justice Richard Cavanagh entered a judgment for defendants on Friday and ordered Farriss to pay their costs.

“Irrespective of the outcome today, I undertook this matter to bring awareness to a very dangerous situation and to ensure other families do not have to endure or witness such a devastating accident,” Farriss said in a statement after the ruling.

“Needless to say I am very disappointed with the judgement and am looking at my options.”

Mr Farriss sought legal damages of $622,000 from the boat company’s owner over the 2015 incident, where his finger became caught in a chain while he was dropping an anchor in Akuna Bay.

He earlier insisted he had received insufficient instructions on how to operate the anchor, which he claimed should have been better maintained and equipped with warning signs.

But his bid was ultimately overturned, with the NSW Supreme Court ruling on Friday there was inconsistencies in his evidence.

INXS guitarist Tim Farriss was chasing $622,000 in damages from the boat company, but now has to pay legal costs. Picture: Nikki Short / AAP

It followed a six-day hearing in the Supreme Court last year, which heard the accident left Farriss traumatised, depressed and suffering recurrent nightmares.

Farriss’ barrister, Adrian Williams, told the court that despite the finger being surgically reattached, he was unable to play guitar.

The court heard that since the accident he had become depressed and could not compose music to the same degree.

During a cross-examination last year, Mr Axford’s lawyer, John Turnbull, suggested Mr Farriss had caused the accident himself by stepping on a foot pedal that caused the chain to engage.

Farriss said he “couldn’t be 100 per cent sure” as he was in a state of shock.

“I’ve had nightmares about both hands being dragged into the winch, I’ve had nightmares about my feet being dragged into the winch – I can’t honestly say that my mental condition is stable enough to remember exactly,” Farriss said.

“It was a long time ago – it was a traumatic event.”

INXS. From left: Kirk Pengilly, Jon Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Tim Farriss, Garry Gary Beers and Andrew Farriss in 1981.

In his published reasons for the Judgement on Friday, Justice Richard Cavanagh, SC, found there had been inconsistencies in the account.

Justice Cavanagh wrote that Farriss had stepped on the button to pull up the anchor while he was holding the chain, causing his hand to be pulled into the machinery.

The judge accepted Farriss was having problems with the anchor chain, but said it had to have been working when his hand was pulled into the machinery.

“In circumstances in which the plaintiff bears the onus of establishing breach and causation, uncertainty as to what actually happened does not assist the plaintiff,” he said.

Farriss was an original member of INXS, which formed in 1977, along with his brothers Jon Farriss and Andrew Farriss, Garry Beers, Kirk Pengilly and frontman Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997.

Their well-known hits include Never Tear Us Apart, Need You Tonight, New Sensation and Suicide Blonde.

INXS remain one of Australia’s most popular rock acts with their Very Best Of compilation spending more than 3000 weeks in the ARIA top 50.

Originally published as INXS guitarist Tim Farriss loses bid for damages after career-ending hand injury