Transocean Sought Waivers From Deepwater Horizon Evacuees
During a recent appearance on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN's premiere nightly news program, maritime injury attorney Kurt Arnold described how Transocean officials sought to protect the company at evacuees' expense in the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic explosions and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon.
Arnold explained in particular how Transocean representatives pressured employees to sign statements in which they disavowed being injured or having witnessed the horrific accident aboard the oil platform.
"What you really need to understand is that the litigation machine took place right away. Most of these survivors were on a boat that should have gone to shore, but instead, they kept them out right by the drilling rig, watching the fires, essentially where their friends had perished or were missing. And they kept them there, so that . . . they could get their litigation machine essentially in place," Arnold admonished.
Arnold observed in closing that Transocean's consistent response toward the evacuees in the days following the accident has been to claim publicly that the company intends to take responsibility for the harm done to its workers, while at the same time it has been taking private steps to "ultimately put them in a bad situation."
For more information on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon accident, please visit Arnold & Itkin LLP's new maritime injury blog, GulfCoastMaritime.com, and its dedicated coverage at transoceanlawsuits.com.
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