BP oil refinery workers in Texas win damages of $100m

[demoleft]

Source: bbc

A US jury has awarded $100m (£62m) in damages to 10 workers who said a leak at a BP oil refinery in Texas in 2007 had made them sick.

The source of the leak at the refinery south of Houston was never identified and environmental agencies reported no evidence linking it to the refinery.

BP concluded that any toxic substance had come from outside.

But lawyers for the workers argued the odour had come from a sulphur recovery unit at the plant.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8421998.stm

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the jury agreed with the workers lawyers.
common sense against environmental agencies.
wish it happened it italy too, more often. how many workers got sick/died because of pollution at work, and their families got nothing because pollution was not enough evidenced.

[Omaha Steve]

1. K&R!

PLEASE cross post in the Labor Forum.

OS

[demoleft]

3. just done. i did not know i could post the same news in different places.

but good to know i can.

thanx. ciao.

[ensho]

2. good

nt

[KT2000]

4. A terrific victory

corporations have been successful at denying responsibility - good to see such a victory.

[Garam_Masala]

5. Good for them! I have always said Petrol power is a lot more dangerous than

Nuclear power. Thousands have died in refinery accidents. Many more have been
injured. Ditto with coal mining. Not to mention the poisonous gases emitted
during combustion of coal, oil & petrol.

How many have died or injured in nuclear accidents in western countries? Close to zero.
How many green house gases have been emitted by nuclear power plants? Close to zero.

France is 80% nuclear power and doing just fine.
India is building 15 more nuclear power plants.
USA has not built a nuclear power plant in 30 years (may be more).
So stupid!

[Mopar151]

6. While I agree with you about petroleum and coal

And I once worked for a heinous chemical/gas co. Bhopal, India ring any bells?

The trouble is - at least in the US - the same ignorant asses build nuke plants! And I know know "nukes" all too well - 2 BIL are career nuclear engineers, plus a "used up" (lifetime exposure limit reached) nuclear tech - who told me the real story about "leapers" - several electricians and "shutdown" laborers - and a former Seabrook Station plumber, who tipped me that his carpool (4 guys) drank a half-gallon of liquor every fucking day on the way to work. And I beleive him, 'cuz my landlord hired him to fix the plumbing in my apartment, and the sumbitch drank every drop of alcahol he could find in the place.

I wish it was'nt so, too - but the management of American corporations is not to be trusted with anything nearing the disaster potential of nuclear plants.

[Garam_Masala]

8. Agreed, nuclear power plants need strict controls on

quality of workers and work being done.

Also, it is quite possible to build safeguards to prevent catastrophic
accidents.

[pleah]

7. K&R

[upstandingcitizens]

10. I'm new here again.

I was here in 2002 for awhile lurking. What is K&R? I don't remember it.

[TexasObserver]

9. A jury verdict is not an judgment. It's a vote.

This vote will not end up in a judgment of $100 million, or anything close to it. The jury made findings of actual damages for the litigants, and those numbers are in the range of $10,000 to $250,000, or so, each.

I expect if this set of jury findings does act as the basis for a judgment, the judgment the court enters will be much, much less. A total somewhere between $10 million and $30 million seems more likely.

Every time there's a big jury verdict, media announce it as the jury awarding so much money. Much of the time, the big verdict number never becomes a judgment anywhere near that number.

BP should pay dearly, and they will. The judge will determine how much BP pays, and it won't likely be over $35 million, if it goes that high.

BP is terrible and deserves to be hit for big damages, but just because a jury writes it down doesn't make it recoverable in judgment.

[upstandingcitizens]

11. nor

does it mean that the workers will get anything close to that after the law/iers get paid.

[TexasObserver]

12. Yes, their lawyers get paid, just like the lawyers for BP.

You do know our side includes trial lawyers, right?

It's their side that attacks trial lawyers.