subject: BP Oil Spill Clean-up Could Lead To More Personal Injury Lawsuits [print this page] BP Oil Spill Clean-up Could Lead To More Personal Injury Lawsuits
BP's efforts to try and clear the massive oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico could lead to the oil giant facing even more personal injury lawsuits than they already have.
Over 100 lawsuits have been filed against BP, Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron International in areas of law including lost wages, business loss, lost profits and loss of use of property as well as numerous personal injury and wrongful death cases. BP are also facing having to pay compensation from cases brought under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which is one of the major laws in maritime injury law.
On top of all this, the firm is now facing a new string of personal injury lawsuits; in the form of toxic/chemical exposure and poisoning.
BP have been using the chemical Corexit 9500 in their clean up efforts. This chemical is used to break the oil into tiny chunks which makes it disperse quicker.This chemical is being sprayed below the water and on the oil on the waters surface.
However, this chemical, while being cleared to be sprayed on the waters surface, is harmful to marine life and can kill large amounts of marine life.
The chemical can also be harmful to humans, resulting in sickness and, in the worst cases of exposure, death.
The spreading of Corexit 9500 is hard to control so if it starts to spread into heavily populated areas, BP could face a huge number of personal injury cases and have to pay large amounts of personal injury compensation. This is a very real possibility as the Gulf of Mexico is a very popular area for water sports, fishing and beach activities.
People exposed to Corexit 9500 are being advised to contact their doctor straight away and those who feel they may have a personal injury case and are owed compensation from BP for this exposure are encouraged to contact a personal injury attorney/lawyer immediately.
For BP, the situation just seems to get worse and worse and this cleanup may only be the tip of the issues they will have to deal with in the coming months and years.
