A Mechanic’s Tragic Accident and the Legal Battle for Compensation
A renowned rally car technician, Matt 'Bubba' Finney, is seeking £5 million in compensation after suffering severe burns when he caught fire during a training session for a 1,300-mile desert race. The incident occurred while he was refueling a high-performance Prodrive Hunter T1+ rally car ahead of the November 2021 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Finney, 52, was doused in highly volatile racing fuel, which led to him catching fire. He was placed in an induced coma for three months and underwent extensive skin grafts and surgeries in Dubai for four months before returning to the UK. Nearly four years later, he has filed a significant compensation claim against Prodrive Motorsport Ltd, the company responsible for producing the rally raid machine. His legal team argues that the injuries have had a profound impact on his life.
Prodrive is a leading British motorsport firm, known for designing and building Aston Martin racing cars and the World Rally Championship-winning Subaru Impreza driven by Colin McRae in 1995. The company continues to produce high-performance off-road vehicles, including the Hunter, and collaborates with Lewis Hamilton's X44 racing team in the electric-only Extreme E series.
Finney, who has worked with the firm for over two decades, also contributed to a record-breaking Subaru WRX that completed the 38-mile Isle of Man course in 17 minutes and 35 seconds at an average speed of 128mph in 2016.
His legal representatives argue that the accident was caused by defective working practices. They claim that a 'fountain-like spray of fuel' erupted from the fuel pump after he attached the nozzle to the car itself. According to court documents, Prodrive failed to provide sufficient crew for the refueling process and did not adequately train staff on the new Piusi Ex50 refueling pump, which allegedly wasn't designed to operate above 40°C.
The lawyer representing Finney, James Candlin, stated that the mechanic slipped on fuel that had spilled onto a tarpaulin sheet, which sparked the fire. Racing fuels are known to be highly volatile, and the incident left Finney severely burned, requiring treatment for burns to his head, face, chest, back, upper and lower limbs, and throat.
Despite attempts to return to work, Finney continues to suffer from scarring, chronic pain, flashbacks, and mental trauma. His lawyers mentioned that he has been medically certified as unfit for work and has only been able to take on desk-based roles since the accident.
Prodrive, however, claims that Finney was responsible for the incident due to his failure to follow safety procedures. Their barrister, Vaughan Jacob, argued that Finney's decision to refuel the car while it was hot led to the fire. He suggested that if Finney had worked with two other colleagues as required, the pump would have been turned off immediately when it began to leak, preventing the fire.
Prodrive maintains that Finney neglected essential safety protocols, failed to wear the appropriate protective gear, did not check the fuel pump connections, and did not use the correct fuelling area. At the time of the accident, the temperature was below 40 degrees, which they argue was within the safe operating range for the fuel pump.
With a trial date yet to be determined, the case was presented before Master Gary Thornett in the High Court. Both sides are currently debating what evidence should be considered during the trial. Technical experts are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire.
Addressing the long-term effects of the burns, barrister Rob Hunter noted that the trial will also need to include expert evidence on 'stroke medicine' as Finney recently suffered a stroke, which may have been linked to his injuries. The potential connection between the severe burns and the stroke remains under investigation.
The case will be revisited in court at a later date, with both parties preparing for further legal proceedings.
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