The tragic explosion on board the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
On the evening of April 20, 2010 a fatal combination of oil, gas, water, and mud spewed onto the floor of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and exploded killing 11 workers. Logs from the incident report stated that around 126 workers “were enveloped in a flammable mixture” after immense pressure from the fractured sea floor 18,000 feet below shot oil and gas through the well and out of the rig’s vents and pipework. All of this took place within roughly nine minutes. Along with the men who were killed, at least 17 others were reported injured. Nearly 5 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico for three months afterwards.
The local fishing and tourism industries were ravaged, causing many residents to face immense economic and emotional hardships. Daniel Le, a representative of Boat People SOS, said that many Vietnamese Americans from the large fishing and shrimping communities of the coastal states are now “picking up aluminum cans to supplement their incomes. People have sold their furniture, their TVs, so they can buy food and pay their bills and feed their children.” (The Times-Picayune)
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/12/gulf_residents_businesses_say.html
Michelle Jones lost her husband, Gordon, in the rig explosion. She is currently involved with Gulf lawyers in a lawsuit related to the incident. In a federal court filing, her lawyer wrote that “the stakes in Jones' case involves everyday living expenses and the education costs for her two children. After losing her husband, and her sons losing their father, she may have to wait years." Other relatives of the men who died during the Deepwater Horizon explosion, along with the some of the workers who survived it, have also filed wrongful death and injury lawsuits. (Huffington Post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/bp-oil-spill-legal-mess-l_n_660382.html?view=screen
Weitz & Luxenburg is dedicated to providing information and legal assistance to workers and family members who have experienced injuries or loss as a result of the tragedy on the Deepwater Horizon. –
What went wrong?
While some details of the circumstances surrounding the oil spill are still being debated and investigated, a 234-page report issued from BP admitted that the company missed key warning signs in the hours preceding the explosion of the rig.
BP’s head of safety, Mark Bly, said that managers on the Deepwater Horizon could have prevented the
disaster if they had noticed the unusual pressure test readings along with the signs indicating a breach of the cement seal at the well’s bottom. “Given everything that came before, there probably should have been more risk assessment. They probably should have been more careful,” he said.
BP also placed shared blame upon its partners, Haliburton and Transocean. These two corporations have accused BP of wrongly trying to shift the blame and shield itself from being charged with gross negligence. “This is a self-serving report that attempts to conceal the critical factor that set the stage for the Macondo incident: BP's fatally flawed well design," said a Transocean representative.
Democrat, Ed Markey, who has been investigating the spill, argued that BP’s report was more about protecting its own interests than determining the actual causes of the explosion. Congress has also raised allegations that BP disregarded standard industry safeguards and allowed a “culture of recklessness to flourish” due to its anxiousness to finish a project that was $20 million over budget and 43 days over time. BP denies this allegation, but criminal investigations are still underway which could find the company guilty of negligence. (Guardian UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/08/deepwater-horizon-rig-bp-report?intcmp=239
If you or your family were affected by the BP disaster, please do not hesitate to contact Weitz & Luxenburg. We are one of the leading litigation law firms in the country and can help you obtain compensation for your losses and injuries.
Louisiana Gulf Lawsuits | Weitz & Luxenberg Environmental Lawyers Feinberg’s restrictive categories to Gulf oil spill claims 2010 BP oil spill continues affecting families – our law firm can help
