British Petroleum has acknowledged that the company will have to spend significantly more than the $75 million liability cap to pay out damages to individuals as diverse as Louisiana fishermen to owners of Florida condominiums for its responsibility in the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill, the result of the explosion and subsequent sinking of the massive oil rig Deepwater Horizon, is currently estimated to be spilling between 5000 and 25,000 barrels of oil a day.
Even if the spill is on the conservative side, thousands of Gulf coast citizens fear for their jobs, livelihood, and the life of the Gulf itself. Due to state governments closing areas to fishing and the loss of tourism, many Gulf residents are seeking compensation for the loss of income. Because the spill is feared to go on throughout the summer, the entire Gulf region, and perhaps the Florida Keys may lose all economic benefits they have had.
BP states that the spill has already cost the company upwards of $350 million, and they claim they have already paid out $3.5 million in damages beyond cleanup costs. While this may seem like a lot to some, it should be mentioned that BP is estimated to pull in $93 million a day from their oil operations around the world. The $75 million cap, which they may contest, doesn’t even amount to a full day.
There are concerns that the hundreds or thousands of damage claims that will pour in may take decades to sort out. This is based on the complex nature of the oil spill damage claims, and using the Exxon Valdez damage claims as precedence. It took over 20 years for some of those claims to be sorted out, and in the end, the Supreme Court, in all their wisdom, decided to limit how much oil companies had to pay. In 2008, the Supremes cut payouts to the plaintiffs.
Still, lawyers are setting up shop in the Gulf states and are preparing both individual and class-action suits against BP and perhaps Transocean and Halliburton. It is reported that over 70 lawsuits have already been consolidated in Houston, Texas, but some of the plaintiffs want their cases heard in New Orleans. One law firm is representing 500 fishermen in individual claims. Also, at least one BP shareholder has filed suit against the company.
BP backed off an earlier attempt to pay fishermen who agreed to help with the cleanup effort $5000 in exchange for a release from liability. BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward called this “a misstep.”
This is an ongoing situation, sure to change weekly, if not daily. Congress is currently grilling leaders of the companies involved, and is also discussing raising the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. This is still a drop in the bucket for the profit margins of BP.
If you believe you may be eligible to file a damages claim against those responsible for the Gulf oil spill, please contact the Mobile, Alabama area maritime accident attorneys at Long & Waite, P.C. today.
