Legal News

AN OFFSHORE instillation manager, who was kidnapped at gunpoint in the Niger Delta five years ago, is suing his former employers for £250,000 for the trauma he said he suffered during his seven-day ordeal.
Gordon Gray, from Crieff, Perthshire, was working as the installation manager on the Bulford Dolphin drilling rig when he was kidnapped by armed rebels in March 2007.
Mr Gray, was held in captive for seven days by an armed gang before being handed over to Nigerian government officials. There was no disclosure as to any ransom was paid by his former employer to secure his release.
Mr Gray is now seeking damages from his former employers in an action to be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh later this year.
His lawyer confirmed yesterday that Mr Gray was seeking £250,000 in damages. He said that although Mr Gray had suffered only minor physical injuries during his kidnap ordeal, he was left traumatised due to his abduction.
The basis of the action was that Mr Gray’s employers were under a duty of care to take reasonable steps to safeguard him and take reasonable steps to ensure his security on the installation whilst he was at work.
It was also claimed that there were some warnings prior to the event occurring but the employers failed to take reasonable steps to stop pirates boarding the rig and kidnapping Mr Gray.
Mr Gray was taken at gunpoint by his kidnappers, who were also armed with machetes, to a safe house where he had been kept, in constant fear of his life.
The lawyer said that Mr Gray was also threatened and beaten at times and then released after the issue was resolved. Living in fear for his life had left him traumatised during the entire ordeal.
He said Mr Gray, who was no longer working for Dolphin Drilling, was now working in the North Sea. And he said Mr Gray was still suffering from traumatic effects of his ordeal without giving the exact details.
A spokesman for Dolphin Drilling said it would be inappropriate to comment.