Gulf Offshore Workers Deserve Safety Enhancements
A national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill correctly concluded that the deadly and costly accident was the culmination of years of industry and government complacency and a lack of attention to safety, Texas offshore injury lawyer Jason Itkin said this week.
The report, issued January 11 by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, called for an overhaul of the approach of government and industry to drilling safety.
“We know that lack of attention to safety is dangerous. We’ve represented hundreds of injured offshore workers and repeatedly seen the lack of safety precautions that lead to preventable offshore accidents,” said Itkin, a partner in Arnold & Itkin LLP, a Houston, Texas-based maritime accident and injury law firm that represents several injured Transocean workers.
As offshore platforms drill in deeper waters where most of the oil resources remain, only systematic reforms to industry drilling practices and government oversight will reduce the chances of a future large-scale disaster similar to the Deepwater Horizon, the report concluded.
An explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon in April 2010 killed 11 maritime workers, injured dozens and created one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. BP was leasing the Deepwater Horizon from Transocean at the time of the fatal offshore accident and drilling about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast.
Houston offshore injury attorney Kurt Arnold, a partner in Arnold & Itkin LLP, said improvements to drilling safety would directly benefit offshore workers and indirectly help other Gulf coast industries.
“We’ve seen the harm the BP oil spill caused working families and many businesses along the Gulf from Texas to Louisiana to Mississippi,” he said. “We understand their struggles because we’ve sat in their homes and on the porches and listened. Everyone benefits from safer drilling practices that preserve clean beaches and open fishing grounds.”
If you have any questions regarding a maritime incident or have suffered a maritime injury, contact a maritime attorney online at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free consultation or call our maritime law office toll free at 866-222-2606.
