INXS star Tim Farriss is suing a pair of Sydney boat operators after losing his finger in a freak 2015 accident.
The musician claims he was left unable to play his guitar after catching the ring finger of his left hand in an electric anchor while sailing off the coast of Sydney, Australia in a rented vessel. He underwent two surgeries in an effort to reattach the digit, but both were unsuccessful and he was left with permanent damage.
Opening up about the drama for the first time in a new court statement, the Need You Tonight rocker writes: “I don’t know if I will be able to play properly again.”
The guitarist is now taking legal action against the boat’s operators, John and Jill Mary Axford, who he claims are responsible for his injury.
“I will NEVER forget what I saw… as long as I live,” the 61-year-old star adds. “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.”
Farriss’ lawyers claim there was a foreseeable risk of injury to anyone using the Omega Clipper 34 boat’s equipment, and the defendants failed to instruct their client on how to use the equipment properly. They also allege the Axfords had not maintained a fully functioning anchor.
The Axfords and the Church Point Charter boat hire company insist Farriss was at fault and failed to take appropriate care.