Panama City Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

While time has marched on since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, we know that the oil spill still feels ever-present for members of the Gulf Coast community impacted by its massive reach. The continuing legal disputes are a reminder of the spill's scope and broad impact. As your Panama City oil spill law firm, we are closely watching the current court battles so that we can bring lessons learned and legal precedents developed in the Gulf oil spill litigation to our future representation of our Florida Panhandle clients.

Current Status of Gulf Oil Spill Legal Disputes
This week, as reported in the News Herald, a civil trial opened in which the United States Justice Department and representatives of impacted citizens are looking to recover monetary damages from BP and its partners. BP previously pled guilty to a number of criminal charges, including manslaughter, resulting in $4 billion in criminal penalties. Those penalties are just one element of the $24 billion the company has spent on spill-related expenses including cleanup costs and payments to businesses and individuals. In the current trial, federal authorities, affected Gulf Coast states, and impacted business and individuals are hoping to convince the judge to hold BP and its partners liable for tens of billions of dollars in civil damages pursuant to the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. The trial began after settlement talks failed to produce an agreement.

Opening Statements Establish Positions of Plaintiffs, BP, and Other Defendants
In opening statements, the Justice Department lawyer Mike Underhill said that BP put money before safety and suggested the oil giant bears most of the responsibility for the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill. He blamed the explosion and spill on a "culture of corporate recklessness" at the company. Counsel for individual and business plaintiffs focused on allegations that BP focused on speed over safety and also cited safety failures at the other defendant companies. While BP acknowledged errors in judgment, it has denied being grossly negligent and has also suggested the blame is more appropriately placed on other groups. BP attorney Mike Brock accused Transocean, the drilling rig's owner, of failing to maintain the blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon rig and also blamed Halliburton for failures related to cement used on the project. Not surprisingly, the other defendants focused blame on BP during their own opening statements.

Trial Plan and Impact on Future Toxic Tort Cases
Whether BP acted with gross negligence is one of the key issues before Judge Barbier. Such a finding could cause Clean Water Act penalties to nearly quadruple from $1,100 to $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled, resulting in nearly $18 billion in liability under that law alone. Overall, the judge plans to hold the trial in two parts. The first part, which may take three months, will focus on what caused the blowout and will try to assign percentages of blame to companies involved in the spill. In the second part, the focus will shift to determining exactly how much oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.

Already, the civil case has resulted in more than 300 depositions, nearly 9,000 docket entries, and 90 million pages of documents. It will serve as an example for future complex litigation matters nationwide and create precedent in the environmental and toxic tort arenas. We will continue to follow the case so we can bring its lessons to bear in our work as a Panama City environmental injury law firm. This work includes representing those who suffer physical injury or financial loss due to an oil spill or gas leak in Florida or our Gulf Coast waters.

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Continuing Lessons from Continuing Coverage of the Legal Fallout from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Toxic Tort Attorney on Long-Term Effects of Gulf Oil Spill & Other Environmental Disasters

(Photo by M.M. Meeks)

In April, we will hit the three year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The incident rocked our Gulf Coast community. People involved in the oil industry worried about workplace safety and we all worried about the environmental and economic fallout of the explosion and oil spill. Our Panama City environmental injury law firm is continuing to follow the legal developments stemming from the disaster so that we can be prepared to serve local clients harmed by oil and gas industry disasters.

Legal Developments Stemming From the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Gulf Coast Oil Spill

• BP's Criminal Case
As reported in the News Herald , the criminal case against BP was resolved with a $4 billion plea agreement announcd this week. The criminal hearing included emotional testimony from relatives of the eleven workers who died in the initial explosion and an apology from a BP executive. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance approved the settlement pursuant to which BP pled guilty to manslaughter charges for those eleven worker deaths and also pled guilty to charges it lied to the government about the extent of the spill. The money includes payment of fines and money directed towards restoration and prevention projects.
• BP's Civil Cases On Charges Brought by Government and Private Individuals
We have often noted the separation between the criminal and civil systems, a division that is key here as the civil claims against BP remain unresolved. Settlement talks are ongoing and could resolve the civil disputes between BP and both federal and state authorities. Absent such an agreement, a trial will open on February 25 seeking to identify the causes of the well blowout and to assign blame percentages to BP and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon project. Some legal experts expect the case to settle before trial for more than twice the amount as BP is paying to resolve the criminal counts. One incentive to settle from BP's standpoint is the fact that penalties would climb much higher if the government convinces the court that BP acted with gross negligence in the period leading to the accident.

Of course, there are many individuals who have sought damages from BP. Most of the families who lost a loved one on the rig and most of those injured in the explosion have settled their own claims against BP. In a separate settlement, BP agreed to a deal with lawyers representing Gulf Coast residents and business owners who lost money as a result of the spill. BP has said it expects this portion of the legal fallout will cost the company about $7.8 billion.
• An Overview of the Total Costs to Defendants
BP has, according to one estimate, already spent $24 billion on spill-related expenses and may end up with a total bill around $42 billion. There are also other defendants involved in criminal and civil litigation stemming from the explosion and spill. This includes civil and criminal claims that the government has settled with Transocean Ltd., the rig owner. It also includes criminal charges against individual employees ranging from manslaughter to withholding information from Congress.

Why We Follow This Story (and many others like it)
As a law firm for Panama City disaster victims, we are following this litigation closely. We are watching to make sure the people we know and care about are compensated fully and fairly. We are also watching to learn the legal lessons from the litigation so that we can better serve our clients in future. We want to see what sort of evidence the court focuses on, how much victim testimony affects a decision, and to understand what techniques we should employ when we present our client's cases involving similar matters. We also want to stay on top of the rulings, including comments made by judges while handing down their written decision Call if we can put this knowledge to work for you. If you believe an oil spill, gas leak, or other toxic release has caused you harm, we'd love to arrange a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.

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Northwest Florida Lawmakers Angry Over Changes to BP Oil Spill Settlement

Claims Process Continues for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Losses

Some events manage to seem like they happened just yesterday at the same time as it seems like eons since they were actively unfolding. A recent headline that caught the attention of our Panama City toxic injury law firm reminded us that over two and a half years have passed since the explosion that sparked the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. The accident occurred on April 20, 2010 and workers finally capped the wellhead on July 15, 2010. While the calendar keeps moving ahead, the full impact of the explosion, including the 4.9 million barrels of crude oil released in the aftermath and the chemicals used in the clean-up process, remains to be seen. Toxic tort claims are one way in which the law protects individuals who suffer long-term health effects following such environmental disasters.

Environmental Health Group Seeks Participants for Study on Impact of Gulf Oil Spill
As reported by the News Herald, the National Institute of Environmental Health ("NIEHS") is currently looking for people willing to take part in a long-term study of the impact of the 2010 Gulf Oil spill. The group is looking for workers or volunteers involved with any aspect of the incident to join the study in advance of a December 31st deadline. Over 30,000 individuals have already agreed to take part and the NIEHS hopes to enroll 10,000 more participants in the coming month. The study, which is expected to last ten years, is projected to be the largest investigation ever into both short and long-term health effects of oil spills including the impact on both mental and physical health. Dale Sandler, an NIEHS researcher, said there is currently very little known about the health impacts of an oil spill and added that the study will help communities to be better prepared to respond to future oil-related disasters. Investigators plan to choose 15,000 participants for clinical home visits and to conduct a more intensive study of a group of 5,000 participants via long-term health monitoring. Study information will be kept private and confidential and will not involve disclosing participants' health information. However, participants will be told the results of their own screening tests and the officials will provide referrals to medical providers where necessary.

Toxic Tort Claims Protect Victims of Environmental Disasters
The NIEHS study is a reminder of the fact that oil spill disasters pose a risk to the environment in general and also to the health of individuals in the impacted communities. Despite the existence of both state and federal environmental laws, numerous chemicals and toxins are released into the environment every single day. Both these daily events and the larger-scale disasters can leave people sick, often without clear answers as to the source of their illness.

If toxins have made you or a loved one ill, you may have legal recourse via a "toxic tort" claim. These claims allow an individual, or group of individuals, to recover compensation from a company that released pollutants or other byproducts that left the individual sick or injured. Toxins that can lead to medical problems include pesticides, asbestos, toxic waste, oil, and gas. These and other substances can cause a range of serious medical issues such as cancer, respiratory illness, brain damage, and birth defects. Toxic tort suits not only allow individuals to recover money damages, but also serve an important public purpose in holding companies accountable for their actions. This accountability encourages companies to consider and prioritize safety, a move that can prevent future disasters and keep others from suffering similar illnesses.

If you believe a toxic release or environmental disaster caused you or a loved one to fall ill, please contact the Pittman Firm for a free consultation. We are here to help.

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Claims Process Continues for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Losses

Federal Court Judge Signs Order to Overhaul BP Claims Process

(Picture by veetec via sxc.hu)

The Pittman Firm is committed to helping bring Panama City personal injury cases that provide victims with needed financial damages and bring a bit of closure to a time of tragedy. While our firm focuses on individual victims, we are also proud residents of the Florida Panhandle and follow other legal developments that impact our community.

Although it has been nearly two and a half years since the accident, we continue to examine the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Panama City and all of Florida's Gulf Coast. A recent report in The News Herald highlights the concerns of Northwest Florida lawmakers in light of new negotiations regarding the use of fines imposed on BP stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Word has spread about a deal that would give control over BP fine funds to federal government authorities. The rumored deal would also give certain tax deductions to the companies involved in the disaster.

Lawmakers worry the new agreements would run contrary to the carefully negotiated provisions of the RESTORE Act, a framework passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on July 6. Bill Williams, a Gulf County Commissioner and the current president of the Florida Association of Counties, calls the potential changes a "federal power grab" and believes it would be a misuse of RESTORE Act monies. As laid forth in the Act, eighty percent of the fines that BP must pay for Clean Water Act violations are to be given to Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Under the new settlement agreement, some of the funds marked for the five Gulf Coast states impacted by the spill would instead go to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, aimed at repairing environmental damage. This would sharply limit the damage awards aimed at repairing economic damage. The change would impact Florida and would leave Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi out of the settlement. United States Representative Jeff Miller of Chumuckla adds that the settlement would lower the civil penalties assessed against BP for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster while giving a tax advantage to all of the parties deemed responsible for the spill.

Commissioner Williams suggests the new proposal is unconstitutional and usurps the power of the U.S. Congress while delivering a major blow to the Gulf Coast states. Rep. Miller agrees, saying the deal allows the U.S. Justice Department to interrupt a carefully negotiated, balanced approach. Along with Senator Bill Nelson, he criticizes the agreement for giving BP hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits and failing to hold the company fully accountable for its actions. Other federal lawmakers have joined the call, with a group sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder criticizing any DOJ effort to shift fines to the NRDA in circumvention of the power of Congress and the President. Rep. Steve Southerland of Panama City issued a press release praising the RESTORE Act plan as a collaborative effort that included the voices of those communities hit the hardest by the BP spill. He suggests altering the agreement would withhold justice from the Gulf Coast residents who suffered an economic nightmare as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Our law firm is committed to keeping the citizens of Panama City informed about legal matters that impact our region. As always, please call if we can help you seek civil damages after an accident or other injury-causing event in Northwest Florida.

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Claims Process Continues for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Losses

Federal Court Judge Signs Order to Overhaul BP Claims Process

The Panama City injury attorney at our form works to help residents and visitors to our community who have suffered injury or financial loss resulting from the actions of another. Our expertise includes car accidents, nursing home abuse, and losses stemming from the impact of offshore oil spills on Panama City and the Bay County region.

Along with other Gulf Coast communities, Panama City is still feeling the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On April 20, 2010, there was an explosion at the nine year old offshore drilling unit that was operating under a lease to BP. Two days later, on April 22, a leak was confirmed as a large oil slick began to appear near the site. Estimates put the total volume of oil leaked at 4.9 million barrels. Oil released due to the spill was seen throughout the Gulf of Mexico including on the shores of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Communities, businesses, and individuals suffered losses due to the oil itself and also in the clean-up process.

Legal battles seeking to compensate those who suffered financial losses due to the BP spill have been numerous. Interestingly, The News Herald is reporting on a shift in the claims process. An initial submission deadline of May 7 has been extended until June 11 for participation in the Quick Payment program. This program offers a payment of $5,000 to individuals and $25,000 to businesses. Participating in and receiving payment from the Quick Payment program means that the claimant cannot pursue future claims except for injury or death.

In general, the existing Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) is in the process of being phased out. It will be replaced by the Court-Supervised Settlement Program which will determine if losses occurred as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and determine how much is owed to individuals and businesses. The new program is a portion of a settlement agreement that involves more than 100,000 claimants and two class actions filed against BP. It seeks to conclude GCCF and establish a court-supervised replacement. Terms of the program, including a deadline of April 22, 2014 or six months from the settlement's effective date, have been set forth by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.

Under the new program, individual losses are calculated by estimating the difference between projected and actual earnings from May 2010 to either December 2010 or April 2011, depending on the industry involved. Individuals may also be able to receive compensation for lost pension benefits, lost health insurance, and costs involved in job searches and training. Claims on behalf of existing businesses are based on two factors: 1) the reduction in profit for a consecutive period of three or more months in the eight months following the spill and 2) expected profits calculated by looking at growth trends at the business level and economy-wide. Other claim calculation formulas are specified for both successful and failed start-up businesses, failed existing businesses, and losses in multi-facility businesses.

More than two years have passed, but the communities impacted by the Deepwater Horizon spill are still working to recover losses due to the incident. We hope that the oil industry is able to apply lessons from this accident to help prevent future disasters. Our team will continue to be available in the future as a law firm for oil spills in Panama City and throughout Northern Florida.

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BP's Oil Dispersants Linked to Cancer

Oil Reaches Panama City Florida Beaches

BP's massive oil spill that affected our coast from Pensacola to Apalachicola remains, frightfully, in our minds. If you saw the movie "Jaws" or its sequel, you will never forget the spine chilling music as the shark approached the boat or the ad for "Jaws II." It said, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water."

The music is missing, but recent reports of sea life mutated by oil lurking in the Gulf bring back the chill. Fishermen, restaurants, hotels, and people selling their properties suddenly had economic losses like they had been ravaged by the shark's open jaws. Today, too many people and businesses remain uncompensated. Some never applied for settlement, because they thought making a claim would be too difficult. Others had claims wrongfully denied. Times have been hard for them. But remember Alexander Pope's poetic phrase, "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." That hope has just been realized in BP's funding of a settlement that opens up new opportunities for everyone having losses including many who made claims but were denied payment or were only partially paid. It is a new world. For a short time, these claims can be made against the settlement fund. Depending upon where their property was located, people or businesses that sold property along the coast after the spill in 2010 may be entitled to significant payments from the newly created fund. In many cases, the decline in property value is set by formula, meaning that reams of paperwork is not required to prove a loss. Others who should make claims are those who lost business income, for example, from vacation properties, rentals, and restaurants, and those who lost personal income. Among them are seafood processors, fishermen, and oyster harvesters. The claims process is not clear cut, so it is best to get legal counsel. Call if you need more information. Next week, I'll tell you more to help you recover losses from BP's jaws.

Continue reading "BP Settlement Language Opens New Opportunities" »

A federal court judge named Carl Barbier signed an order this week that is designed to implement a complete overhaul of the process by which Gulf Coast residents can file claims for BP oil spill injuries and property damage. Thus far, the claims process has been handled by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility ("GCCF"), with Kenneth Feinberg, who was appointed to the position by President Obama, overseeing the payouts. However, last week a settlement agreement was reached in two class action lawsuits against BP involving over 100,000 claimants. A part of that agreement mandated the dissolution of the GCCF, as well as the establishment of a court-supervised program to handle the remaining claims.

Our Panama City injury lawyer knows that the GCCF has been heavily criticized in the past by people all across the spectrum, with the federal government often complaining that Feinberg has been too stingy and BP executives complaining that he has been too generous. In addition, there have been accusations that Feinberg is not an impartial overseer of the process and that he has used his position to protect BP from additional liability.

Regardless of whether Feinberg has indeed abused his position, the process is going to change as the result of Judge Barbier's order according to the News Herald. First, GCCF will no longer be in charge of handling the incoming claims, and it will be disbanded after the transition has been completed. Second, a new claims facility will be organized, and it will be called the Court Supervised Claims Process, ("CSCP"). As the name suggests, the new claims process will give courts a greater role in the determination of which claims have merit and how much should be paid. In addition, Patrick Juneau has been appointed as the new claims administrator.

Our Panama City injury lawyer knows all too well how many people have suffered injuries, illnesses, and property damage as a result of the 2010 BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf. It is essential for people to be able to get the help that they need, and often the only way they can afford to pay for that help is by getting the compensation to which they are entitled through the claims program. With the implementation of a new process, people may have to wait longer for that compensation. However, the transition process has already begun, and according to the GCCF website, claims that have already been filed will continue to be processed in the order they were received. Also, new claims can still be filed during the transition, and they will also be processed in order.

Gulf oil spill damage is prevalent in our area, and the course of action to take when you have been harmed by it is not always clear. Much of the claims process is done via the internet, which can be useful for those who are familiar with it but very difficult for people who do not use computers and the internet on a regular basis. The new CSCP should help to iron out some of the difficulties and help people finally get the compensation they deserve and get back on track. Those injured should also think about consulting a Panama City personal injury attorney for help with filing a claim and figuring out what a fair settlement is for their injuries.

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BP's Oil Dispersants Linked to Cancer

Rising Concerns About Legitimacy of BP Claims Process

(Photo courtesy of Noah Scalin)

Employment and business losses caused by BP's oil spill are serious, of course, but those losses can be eclipsed by the human misery caused by cancer. BP's oil dispersants have been linked to cancer. Chemical dispersants were used by BP to help clean up the mammoth oil spill. They break up oil into smaller particles that ultimately move the oil from the surface of water or shores into the water column for ultimate distribution elsewhere in smaller concentrations.

Some 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. And 1.8 million gallons of dispersant were spread by BP during the 3-month long ordeal. The dispersants covered the waters and shores of Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. Five of the ingredients in the dispersants, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are linked to cancer.

Of course, BP didn't make this information public. It came from a Freedom of Information Act request by the Florida Wildlife Federation, The Gulf Restoration Network, and Earthjustice, among others. Their report, "The Chaos of Clean-Up: Analysis of Potential Health and Environmental Impacts of Chemicals in Dispersant Products" emphasizes the fact that some dispersants are safer than others. An Earthjustice spokesman said, "The testing (for safety) can't be done at the moment of the disaster; it has to be done ahead of time to avoid chaos." That meant that little was done to determine what dispersant should be used in this disaster to provide the utmost safety to the populations along the Gulf coast.

The medical problems from dispersants documented so far include loss of memory, seizures, severe abdominal pain, fatigue, irritability, and other neurological and endocrine problems, but, now, with cancer as a possibility, the stakes are higher. The fault may not lie solely, or at all, with BP. The dispersant manufacturers tend to keep secret the ingredients in their products, possibly because they know their dangers.

Kenneth Feinberg, a Washington lawyer, was brought in during the summer to administer the 20 billion dollar fund that British Petroleum set up to compensate victims of the April oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon. Now, amid charges from the Attorney General for Louisiana and others that Feinberg is not acting independently of BP, we learn that of the 91,000 Gulf oil spill claims, just one has resulted in final payment being made. Furthermore, we now know that Feinberg's office approved that final payment of $10 million to one of BP's business partners without his office even inspecting the claim for merit. As he put it, "We never reviewed the claim; we honored the request of the parties to fund the claim." In other words, ten million of the fund set up by BP is gone to BP's business partner without any oversight whatsoever by Feinberg. In many people's minds, this makes Feinberg's administration of the fund suspect.

With that in mind, there are 3 ways to make claims to the fund now. First, victims can file for a quick one-time payment of five thousand dollars for individuals and twenty-five thousand for businesses. A release of all claims, except for future claims for bodily injury, must be signed. The person or business cannot make any further claim. The right to sue BP and other defendants will be waived. Signing a release is dangerous since the long term effects of the spill are largely unknown.

Other oil spills, including the one in Alaska from the Exxon Valdez, have proved that. Damages from submerged oil and damages to the seafood continue twenty years later. Second, it is possible for individuals and businesses to file for interim payments and to be paid if they can continue to show losses. Third, claimants can opt for a final settlement of all present and future damages, but to do that, they would have to sign a release. Again, that seems to be a dangerous thing to do in many cases, because if the long term effect of the oil isn't known, how can claimants compute future damages at this point?

If the claims fund administered by Feinberg disagrees with a victim's assessment, the victim can appeal to a 3-judge panel. But guess who picks the panel. Feinberg. The appeals process hasn't been used yet, so many questions remain about how it will be used. Dangers and pitfalls are associated with the signing of any release. The same is true of releasing BP when any option other than interim payment is selected. The required release contains language waiving the claimant's right to sue roughly 120 other possible defendants and even gives BP the right after a settlement to get all of its money back from the other companies and more in some cases. What small sum is Kenneth Feinberg being paid by BP for his administrative work? Only eight hundred fifty thousand dollars a month. Does this cause you to be suspicious of whatever he does?

Last week while discussing our civil justice system, I talked about corporate pollution. I said that corporations have consistently responded to the environmental disasters they have caused by passing the buck for as long as possible. They know the initial outrage will dim, media coverage will diminish, and political administrations will change. Full accountability for their harm cannot be obtained by government agencies. The job is too large since our agencies are underfunded and understaffed. Yet, more accountability is exacted from these corporations than one would expect. The force behind that comes from the private sector.

Into the void that existed in the government's ability in the 1960s to enforce environmental laws to keep our air, water, and lands safe from toxins came unexpected allies, the workers in the American civil justice system. They were the attorneys who advocated for clean air, clean water, and monetary punishment for those who endangered our lives by creating environmental mayhem. With them, but in different roles, were the judges and juries who sat on the groundbreaking cases.

In 1965, private attorneys took on one of the huge energy company, Consolidated Edison, to stop construction of a power generator at Storm King Mountain in New York. Con Ed planned to cut away part of the mountain and turn the nearby forest into a reservoir. The case forced Con Ed to abandon the project. The mountain still stands. This landmark case, which bolstered the government's ability to take environmental and esthetic concerns into consideration when granting permits to corporations, signaled that the civil justice system would become a critical vehicle for progress in environmental issues. Another illustration is worth giving.

In the 1940s and 50s, Hooker Chemical & Plastic Corporation dumped twenty thousand tons of hazardous chemical waste in the abandoned canal that was the centerpiece of the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls. It later covered the dump with dirt and sold the property to the school board for one dollar. During the next decades, the chemicals leached out of the drums and into the surrounding soil. In the 1970s, the EPA learned of the problem. An EPA administrator reported, "Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. The air had a choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces. And then there were the birth defects."

Attorneys representing those citizens forced the corporation to pay restitution, and, eventually, nearly a thousand families were evacuated to safe areas. The national outrage sparked by this case in our civil justice system paved the way for the liability act known as Superfund. It empowers federal agencies to hold polluters accountable for their damages and compel cleanup. Our civil justice system worked there, it worked to require cleanup in the Exxon Valdez spill, and the threat of litigation in it spurred BP to clean up our beaches.

Our civil justice system is David. Corporate America is Goliath. Mark another point for David. History has repeated itself.

How well does our civil justice system perform against corporate pollution of our environment as in the BP oil spill? In 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck a reef off Alaska and spilled more than 10 million gallons of oil over a thousand miles of remote coastline. Exxon's immediate response was to embark on a campaign to avoid responsibility that would last decades. Now, twenty years later, the BP oil spill has ruined Louisiana marshes and threatens its fisheries for years to come. History is repeating itself as BP blames the owner of the rig and all its subcontractors for the catastrophe.

Corporations have consistently responded to the environmental disasters they have caused by passing the buck for as long as possible. They know the initial outrage will dim, media coverage will diminish, political administrations will change, and industry regulators will go through the revolving door to join the industry they once watched. In response to calamities like oil-coated beaches in Santa Barbara in the west and Lake Erie's burning rivers in the east, the consciousness of a nation was raised in the nineteen sixties to corporate exploitation and abuse of the environment. The first attempts of the sixties movement to rein in corporate destruction of our ecology resulted in congressional passage of such laws as the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Clean Air Act to impose limits on corporate polluters that had been dumping toxins in our air, water, and land with abandon. Other laws have since been passed, but these acts remain the pillar of environmental law to this day. However, laws are only as good as their enforcement.

We see today how an underfunded and understaffed FDA cannot adequately inspect all egg farms to see that the eggs delivered to the consuming public are safe for consumption. Unfortunately, we have also seen how underfunded and understaffed government agencies let Wall Street cost our government and us a fortune, because they weren't able to inspect everything that was going on. In the same ways, the agencies responsible for implementing new regulations under the environmental pollution acts were incapable of dealing with what was a wild west of corporate pollution. Underfunded, understaffed, and overpowered by the influential industries they sought to monitor, regulators were time and time again forced to settle for small fines or overlook corporate misconduct entirely.

Continue reading "Does Our Civil Justice Succeed in Handling Corporate Polution of the Environment?" »

Like you, I have been saddened and appalled by the recent oil spill disaster caused by BP. Now, the unthinkable has happened as tar balls have started washing up on our beautiful Florida beaches and oil has been spotted mere miles from our shore. The Gulf is the lifeblood of this region, both economically and environmentally, and, unfortunately, BP has forever changed our community.

The ripple effects are just only now being felt. First, it was the families who rely on the Gulf for their daily work. Now the economic damage has moved onshore. As the number of visitors to the Gulf has been dramatically reduced, every sector of our economy has suffered. From hotels, condominium owners, restaurants and all the different boating businesses to the hardworking Floridians who keep these businesses running, no one seems to be able to escape the oil's reach.

Under federal and Florida law, anyone who is economically or physically affected by the oil spill can recover damages. While BP has initiated a claims process, I have heard from many people who are frustrated with that process and do not feel they are being treated fairly. As of now, the details of the $20 billion escrow fund have not been fully announced. But it is clear that economists, accountants and other experts will be crucial in presenting claims and receiving full compensation for your losses.

A number of attorneys and law firms have come to our area seeking clients, and I am grateful that so many want to help. As a longtime resident of this community, I want to make sure that we receive the best representation we can. To that end, I am working with a group of attorneys from across Florida and the country to handle claims and any litigation that must be filed against BP if those claims are not paid in full.

Continue reading "Oil Reaches Panama City Florida Beaches" »

During the last few weeks, I described the laws governing how to obtain compensation for oil spill damages. The oil in the Gulf of Mexico is moving nearer to us, and the coming chaos of churning waters during our hurricane season that just began makes further discussion about the oil problem imperative.

Oil hit Dauphin Island off Mobile and was 7 miles south of Pensacola just a week ago. As you've been hearing, it's closer to us now in Bay and Walton Counties. Let me come immediately to some critical points about what you must do and not do if you've lost income or property value because of the BP spill. I'm not going to mince words. We are at war with BP. Don't underestimate the situation. Despite what it says in pretty advertisements or in TV interviews, it's history has been sorry, and its PR people have been spinning the truth 24/7. It started by saying, "We'll pay all legitimate claims," whatever that means. Now, it's saying it's liability is limited. That's certainly clearer, and it serves to tell us that it's going to deny as many claims as possible. Its corporate survival depends on that.

So, what do you need to know? First, avoid the class actions that have been filed like they are the plague. The likelihood of their success is small. Why did some lawyers file class actions even though federal courts hate class actions and refuse to certify the classes when everyone's damages are so different? Only they can tell you, but one thought is that by filing class actions, they thought they could get publicity to attract other victims of the oil spill to become clients. Second, it may be important to avoid any suit that can be transferred to federal multi-district litigation in a court that is yet to be determined by the Washington-based judicial panel on multi-district litigation. It is likely that litigation in that forum will consume years. Look at the Exxon Valdez mess that has been going on in that kind of litigation for over twenty years. The people in Alaska still haven't been paid. Finally, lawyers of all types, criminal, real estate, and divorce, to name a few, are suddenly pronouncing their expertise in negligence or insurance law, the type law that truly governs these cases, and are filing cases in those forums.

Continue reading "Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - Problems with Oil Spill Litigation" »

In the Florida Panhandle, most people have not lost money or had other damage caused by BP and Transocean from the oil spill in the Gulf. However, some have already suffered large economic losses. Whatever the kind of economic loss they have had, the legal remedies are the same, and some are far better to utilize than others. Some of the stories I get from people calling me for help are appalling.

For instance, the man who owns a nationally sold fishing magazine whose business is failing, because he can't get even his steady advertisers to put money into a magazine about Florida fishing. Or the restaurant owners in Louisiana who say their business has dropped to nothing, because tourists aren't going there or they won't order seafood, because they've heard it's unsafe. The local charter fishermen who have lost jobs since the fisheries have shut down. And the hotel and condo owners and their employees who have suffered due to cancelled rental reservations. All are in the same situation. They have economic losses that can be recovered by following the right steps. If they follow one of the wrong paths, they are likely to be tied up in litigation for years.

Let's examine the different possibilities for economic recovery. The federal law governing recovery of damage due to the oil spill is the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), 33 USC Sec. 2701 and subsequent sections. It provides for broad recovery of losses from responsible parties like BP, and it covers the economic losses of all the people who have called me as I described above. That gives you an idea of how broad the OPA is.

Continue reading "What To Do If You Have Oil Spill Damage" »

Never in the history of man has a manmade environmental disaster as tragic in its scope as the BP Gulf oil spill been seen. Cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska 20 years ago continues to this day. Only 8% of the oil has been recovered. The amount of oil in our Gulf of Mexico is expected to be 400% of the Alaskan spill. What happened, what don't you know yet about what happened, and if your property or business has been damaged by the oil or news of it in the Gulf, what is the best course of action for you to follow? Also, what dangers exist if you don't get it right? Wes Pittman at The Pittman Firm, P.A., Panama City, Florida, answers these questions below and will continue to update information and make recommendations in the weeks to come.

On March 20, one month before the blowout and ensuing explosion, BP was behind its drilling schedule. That day, it ordered faster drilling. The drilling operation had only one blowout preventer which was made by Cameron International Corporation in 2001. A huge machine with roughly 260 moving parts, it had been tested onshore but not fully at the 5000' depth at which the drillers hoped it would work. And it had been damaged a couple weeks before the blowout when a worker on the Deepwater Horizon accidentally bumped a lever. A rubber part from the preventer was seen floating beside the Deepwater Horizon and was reported to a supervisor who said, "No big deal." Also, the drilling site was not equipped with an acoustic switch to terminate the flow of oil in the event a blowout occurred. Acoustic switches are used throughout the world in places like Norway where governments require them. The U.S. does not. The only switch to end oil flow from the drill pipe below the Deepwater Horizon was a manual switch, requiring a human hand for activation, at the site of the explosion. Neither the manual switch or the blowout preventer had a backup system in place.

Where are we now? We have BP setting up claims offices along the coast, but are they baiting people to settle cheaply? They were found to be untrustworthy in Louisiana where they hired fishermen for cleanup but buried releases in the contracts. Various claims mechanisms exist for victims to follow outside the BP offices. The best and fastest mechanism, no matter where the damage occurred, may be through the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to avoid years of delay. People and businesses in a panic to file class action suits in various states will likely get bogged down in federal multidistrict litigation with stays and then get pennies on the dollar.

Continue reading "Gulf Oil Spill Tragedy Eclipses Other Manmade Disasters" »