Adrian Todd was 14 years old when he was struck in the face by a boat propeller on April 21, 2008 at Refuge Bay in New South Wales (NSW) Australia. His cheekbone was crushed, his left eye socket was damaged, his left cheek was severely lacerated, his nose and upper lip were cut in half, his right cheek and eye lids were lacerated, and his right eye was permanently damaged.

Adrian Todd pull started a 8 horsepower Mercury outboard motor, the motor was in gear or slipped into gear, Adrian fell over the stern of the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and was struck by the propeller.

Legal action was brought against Mercury Marine Australia. The case rose through the Australian court system to the Supreme Court of NSW, Court of Appeal in Sydney.

Adrian Todd vs. Marine Power International Pty Ltd t/as Mercury Marine Australia
Supreme Court of NSW
Common Law
Case # 2010 / 00296780
Settled July 23, 2012

Some may not consider this a propeller case. Much of the attention was focused on the small outboard jumping into gear. However, the case would not even exist if Adrian had not been struck by the propeller.

During the course of these events, Adrian’s father, Julian Todd, became a major force for propeller safety in Australia. He held a high profile golf benefit for his son, T-off for Adrian, in November 2008 that helped spread the word for the need for boat propeller safety. Then he began working on several fronts for boat propeller safety, especially for boats involved with youth.

Julian Todd has been interviewed by several leading boating magazines and spoke out for boat propeller safety during those opportunities.

As a result of his efforts, and the efforts of others, propeller guards are now widely in use on power boats used with youth sailing clubs, and seen in a much more favorable light in Australia than in the United States. Prop Guards have long been used on surf saving boats in Australia, but are now seeing wider use.

In addition to this accident and case raising the awareness of the danger of boat propellers in Australia, the Minchin propeller accident, and the Australian Environmental Safety Propeller have also raised awareness of the issue there.