A WIDOW has been refused a £36,000 insurance payment over her husband's death because he was drunk when he fell into a harbour and drowned.
Ivan Ward, 32, a trawlerman, had accidental death cover but Norwich Union Insurance refused to pay out to his widow, Julie, because of an "intoxicating liquor" exemption clause.
Mrs Ward, of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, went to court, but a judg
e has backed the insurer. He agreed that the death was clearly a tragic accident, but said it had been caused by the fisherman's night of excessive drinking after ten days at sea.
The Court of Session was told that Mr Ward, a father of three, was a member of the crew of the Shetland-based Mizpah ll and left on Boxing Day 2004 for a fishing trip off the Faroe Islands.
They landed their catch at Peterhead, and Mr Ward and his colleagues went for a drink. He spent almost six hours drinking, and returned to the harbour in the early hours of the morning. He was staggering on the quayside and fell backwards into the water. He had never learned to swim.
One of his friends dangled a rope, but Mr Ward was unable to grasp it. Another crew member, Tom Robertson, 16, the skipper's son, jumped in fully clothed, and got hold of Mr Ward but could not keep his head above the water. He lost grip, and he too got into difficulties.
Steven Ritchie, 19, a member of the local lifeboat, saw the two men in the harbour and alerted the emergency services. He removed some of his clothing and went into the water. He decided to rescue the man further from the wall – Mr Robertson – and swam to him and brought him back to the harbour ladder, put him over his shoulder and climbed out.
Mr Ritchie laid Mr Robertson on the quayside and turned to look for the other man. He went back in, and dived under the water several times but could not find Mr Ward. His body was recovered an hour later, under the searchlights of the lifeboat which had been launched.
The court heard that Mr Ward's accidental death policy specified that no payment would be made for "accidental bodily injury caused by or resulting from... intoxicating liquor... taken by the insured".
The judge, Gordon Reid, QC, said: "By the end of the evening Mr Ward was unfortunately not only drunk but very drunk as he made his way back to the Mizpah. He was swaying and staggering... he fell in the dark into the cold, dark water of the harbour and drowned.
"Prima facie, therefore, Mr Ward's death was caused by accidental means within the meaning of the policy."
The full article contains 464 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
