Deepwater Horizon's Legacy Should Be Safer Offshore Working Conditions
Houston maritime attorney Jason Itkin notes that the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill are still being felt by many communities and workers along the Gulf Coast as the first anniversary of the disaster approaches.
“Workers, families and small businesses across the Gulf are still trying to recover physically, financially and emotionally from the BP oil spill,” said Itkin, a partner in Arnold & Itkin LLP, a Houston, Texas law firm that represents injured offshore workers and those harmed by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. “Some still need help getting back on their feet and receiving fair compensation for their losses.”
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine said the full environmental, economic and health effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill remain unclear a year after the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The study said the catastrophic accident does underscore the vulnerability of humans and ecosystems to environmental changes such as oil spills.
“It’s difficult to quantify the effects of the disaster when they are still rippling through communities across the Gulf,” Itkin said. “For that reason, we think that quick payouts often undervalue the actual cost of the losses and do more to relieve the oil companies of liability than to help workers and small businesses.”
As deepwater drilling resumes in the Gulf of Mexico, Houston maritime accident attorney Kurt Arnold said it’s important to keep pressing oil and gas exploration companies to focus on safer drilling practices and precautions to protect offshore workers and prevent loss of life.
“We should never forget that 11 workers lost their lives in the BP Deepwater Horizon and consider the lasting impact that maritime disaster had on the families of offshore workers,” said Arnold, a partner in Arnold & Itkin LLP.
“The subsequent investigation has shown that the loss of life was preventable if BP had focused on safety," he said. "We will keep asking if enough has been done to protect offshore workers and prevent another disaster.
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.
