A MARINE engineer who suffered serious head and facial injuries during a life-saving drill was yesterday guaranteed a compensation pay out.

George Ziemniak was taking part in the drill at the Teesport Offshore Base, in Middlesbrough, when the accident happened.

He had been helping test the launching and recovery of lifeboats on board a merchant vessel moored alongside the base's jetty in November 1997, London's Appeal Court was told.

One of the lifeboats plunged into the sea when a chain link failed and Mr Ziemniak and others were thrown into the water.

He suffered devastating injuries to his face and head which, the appeal judges were told, had blighted both his social and working life.

Mr Ziemniak sued his employers at the time - Middlesbrough firm ETPM Deep Sea Ltd - but had his damages claim dismissed by a Manchester County Court judge in May last year.

But that decision was yesterday reversed by Appeal Court judges which now assures the engineer of full compensation for his injuries.

Lord Justice Kay said ETPM had rightly been cleared of negligence over the accident, which was probably caused by stress corrosion cracking of a chain link.

He said that the company could not have been expected to forsee the link's failure.

But he ruled that the company was nevertheless liable to compensate Mr Ziemniak under the terms of the 1980 Life Saving Regulations, which put an "absolute" duty on employers relating to life-saving equipment.

The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Aldous and Lord Justice Jonathan Parker, rejected ETPM's argument that the regulations had not been intended to create a right to civil compensation.

If final settlement terms are not agreed in the meantime, the amount of Mr Ziemniak's damages will have to be assessed at another court hearing.