Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Floods Oil Through The Gulf Coast 
On April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico which is presumed to have killed eleven oil rig workers and started a flood of oil into the nearby waters.  The oil rig burned for two days before tipping over into the water and breaking the riser pipe which carried oil from the sea floor to the surface.  The rig was leased by BP (British Petroleum) and operated by Transocean Ltd. 

Extent of the Oil Spill
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, almost 76,000 square miles, or more than 31% of Gulf of Mexico federal waters have now been closed because of the spill.  The news reports that crude oil has made its way through waters off the entire Gulf Coast, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.  The NOAA estimates that about 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons of crude oil are being released from the pipes each day.  However, news reports quote BP executives as saying the ruptured oil well could conceivably spill as much as 60,000 barrels of oil a day if mitigation efforts were unsuccessful. 

BP has attempted several times to contain the spewing oil, but has failed each time.  A recent endeavor to slow the leak involves attaching a cap, known as the lower marine riser package, over the leaking riser pipe to catch the oil.  Remotely operated vehicles equipped with diamond-bladed saws are positioned at 5,000 feet below sea level to slice the pipe for placement of the cap.  However, this operation has never before been attempted and runs the risk of exacerbating the problem before mitigating it.  So far, this oil spill is one of the biggest on record and is scheduled to surpass the Exxon Valdez tragedy.  President Obama has called he Deepwater Horizon spill "the greatest environmental disaster of its kind in our history."

Businesses & Industries Suffer Economic Harm
The oil spill has already had a significant effect on the delicate natural resources located throughout the Gulf Coast.  The oil contamination has impacted fish, shellfish, marine mammals, turtles, birds, and other aquatic creatures and their habitats, including wetlands, beaches, mudflats, bottom sediments, corals, and the water column.  It is likely the contamination will continue to harm generations of sea life as they endeavor to spawn and mature.  News reports comment that the substantial fishing industry located in the Gulf is completely "crippled" by the devastating clouds of floating oil.  Commercial fishermen, recreational fishing guides, commercial shrimpers, seafood sellers, seafood processing plants, charter boat owners, commercial property owners, restaurants, and other businesses that are dependent on the aquatic resources found in the Gulf of Mexico have lost, and will continue to lose, millions of dollars in income and future earnings.

Causes of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill
According to reports, the Deepwater Horizon oil well was transitioning from an exploratory well into a production well at the time the explosion occurred.  This procedure, conducted by Halliburton, involves placing a cement seal on the oil well and presents significant known risk of a blowout which can cause an oil spill.  There is evidence that the companies involved failed to perform a final check, or cement bond log, to determine the effectiveness of the seal placed on the well.  Experts have stated that performing this test would have alerted workers to signs of an impending explosion. 

In case a blowout occurs despite generally required precautions, an oil rig blow out preventer, or BOP, is supposed to cut through the pipes and seal off the well.  If used correctly, the BOP should stem the flow of oil and prevent a gigantic spill like this one from occurring.  However, the Deepwater Horizon BOP could not be activated to curtail the spill.  In addition, there is some evidence that a BOP cannot function at the depth the drilling occurred, which would leave rig with no feasible means of curtailing the effects of a blowout despite the known possibility of one occurring.

Negligence & Recklessness on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig
Whenever the negligence or reckless, wrongful, or illegal conduct of a defendant causes an injury to a plaintiff, the defendant can be held liable for the damages suffered.  To support a claim of negligence, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty of care, the defendant breached that duty, and that breach caused damages to the plaintiff.  When a defendant fails to exercise the level of care that a reasonable, prudent person (or corporation) would exercise under the same circumstances, the defendant has breached their duty of care.  Thus, if a reasonable, prudent corporation acting in the same circumstances as BP and the other companies would have conducted cement bond logs, regularly checked their BOP, or installed other safety measures, then BP and the other companies would be considered negligent. 

When determining whether the defendant's conduct lacked reasonable care, factors to consider include whether there was a foreseeable likelihood that the conduct would result in harm, the foreseeable severity of the harm, and the burden of precautions to eliminate or reduce the risk of harm.  Past oil spill disasters alone have shown that failing to take precautions to prevent an oil spill can have devastating effects on natural resources and the businesses and people who rely on such resources for their livelihood.  Given the delicate nature of the marine habitats in the Gulf Coast and the extent of business people who rely on them, it seems likely that BP, Transocean, and the other companies involved in the Gulf Coast oil spoil knew or should have known of the severity of the harm that could ensue.  In addition, there were several industry safety standards that were apparently available to BP, but which the companies failed to utilize to prevent an oil spill from occurring and to mitigate the effects of one if it did occur.

In addition to the likelihood that BP and the other companies were negligent or reckless in their maintenance and operation of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, there has also been speculation that the companies may have been negligent in the design or manufacture of the rig, pipes, and other machinery. 

What to Do If You've Been Harmed
If your business is dependant on the natural resources found in the Gulf Coast and has lost income or the potential of future earnings due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses.   The National Justice Coalition is comprised of preeminent attorneys who have extensive experience in all types of tort litigation.  Contact the National Justice Coalition to learn how our attorneys may be able to help you.