Acme Oil Rig Liabilities

Case Summary

The case at point involves Acme Oil a multinational company that is involved in the business of sourcing and supplying petroleum products across the word. On July 18, 2010, Mr. Edward Hillary who is the Vice president for Gulf Drilling operations of the firm was briefed about the various safety and environmental concerns that were related to the firm’s drilling activities with regard to its operations within the Gulf of Mexico. One of the major issues was on the engineering design especially to the screws attached stabilizer bars that could not withstand the safety concerns if they were storms. 

At his position, he ignored such advice as it was to impact heavily on the company bonuses that were majorly to be based on the savings made by firm at end of the years. In September 16, 2011 hurricane Mike hit the Gulf of Mexico with speeds of up to 150 mph and the structural set screw that he was advised to replace gave way. There was loss of life in addition to gallons of oil spilling to the water thereby posing environmental dangers. In as far as Hillary was informed; he kept the information so as to keep the firm away from the liabilities associated with the spill. In light of the above, this paper highlights some of the wrongs committed as per this case from an advocacy position that that will be given to the Texas Environmental Trust (TET) and released to the press for possible litigation measures. 

Lost Business Revenues and Individual Income Losses

As a result of the spill, over 20 million gallons of oil were spilled to the sea which led to the destruction of many beaches. The beaches formed one of the major sources of income for many people who were residing there. In that way, there were a number of businesses which closed down and many of the working families lost their jobs. For instance, there are renowned companies involved in the commercial fishing shrimp at time, the oyster industry among other firms that offered employment. For tourism industry, there was several boat charter operators, hotels serving tourist, tourist attraction sites that were destroyed, rental properties owners and many other businesses within the region that were forced to close down losing millions of dollars.

The closure of those businesses was as a result of the negligence of the firm that caused the spill. On the part of Texas Environmental Trust (TET) some of these firms were supporting its operation at times providing it with revenues. The Texas states as well it local authorities were getting taxes from the same. All this together with the individuals who suffered as a result of the spill are legible to file lawsuit against the firm. By so doing the firm will be compelled to pay every entity they compensation (Gill, Picou, & Ritchie, 2011).

Environmental Damage

As a result of the spill the coast line was highly damaged since the spilled had to affect the marine life making it inhabitable for most living organisms. The surrounding wetlands could be experiencing some long terms affect that may take years to clean up. On the part of the wildlife, several animals including those found in water and land died out the contamination that resulted from the spills. In general, the entire ecosystem within the gulf region was highly affected and it may take a long time before such effects will be reversed. The spills have resulted to the change of the atmospheric conditions within the gulfs where there is still fumes coming out and contaminating the atmosphere. The spread of the oil within the water cannot be accurately estimated for now and even a cleanup exercise is done it cannot be fully achieved. 

To reverse the above effects requires a through clean up exercise that cannot be done voluntarily by the responsible company without being compelled to do so. With appropriate legal litigation the firm will be made to provide funds that will be to clean up its mess. At the same time, the firm ought to be compelled to adhere to the laid down environmental policies so as to allow such situations again. 

Health Issues and Health Risks resulting From Oil and Other Chemical Dispersants

Most of the residents within the gulf region there health will be affected as a result of the spill. There are those who may be directly affected due to contacts with the chemicals spilled. Others will be indirectly affected by the chemicals. For instance for a long period they will sill consume marine products that may be containing those chemicals. The chemicals have got long term effects to their lives that may not be known immediately. Hence some of these resides are likely to loose their jobs and be dependent on medical aid. It is going to take long time for the wetland to be cleaned which is the source of water for the residents. Owing to the above circumstances, it’s paramount for the firm to make some legal agreements that it’s going to compensate any resident who may suffer any health problems as a result of its negligence. In addition to that, the firm ought to make some commitments to the workers involved in the clean up exercise (Deguen & Zmirou-Navier, 2010).

Wrongful Death and Body Injury Claims for Rig Workers and their family

Evidently, after the ACME management was notified of the spill one Mr. Hillary assembled a team of his employees with a sole aim of minimizing the impact of the spill. The management had no clear plan as to what is meant by minimizing the damage. Nevertheless, report indicate one of the security crew members left behind to supervisor the rig died. In fact the deceased Mr. Bo Champion was six year veteran who had worked for the company oil rigs for over six years. He died instantly when one of the struts that were supported by the screw that had failed snipped and fell 60 feet. With such a fell he had no chance of survival but it just hit on his chest where it horribly punctured his heart and threw him into surging surf. To date his body has never been recovered and that just a case though they are others.

When one critically examines the circumstance of his death was a result of the faulty struts screw. Indeed Mr. Hilary had been informed of the same and ignored it at the pretext f protecting the company bonuses. One cannot have doubts about the deceased experiences so as to cite any incident of negligence owing to his experience of work. The family of the deceased has lost a breadwinner and has suffered through the horror of losing a beloved one that you cannot have a chance to view his body anymore. In light of the above, the family of those killed in this incident have a right to file wrongful death lawsuit against the firm. There are also some families of the surviving workers who suffered injuries on that day and fill neglected ought to file some lawsuit to be compensated.

Hiding Facts and Misrepresentation 

In this case, there is clear attempts for the management of the firm trying keep the information out of the glare of public. It started that he Mr. Hilary on September 16 at 7:00 am, had started receiving hourly updates concerning the damage but his concern was to have that information closely within the company confines. The main aim to do that was to keep Acme away from taking any potential liability in this case. Essentially, if the management could have shared out the information fast then other agencies could have come in aid and at least help them in their efforts to stop the spill. Based on that, one can argue that Mr. Hilary was trying to abet some crime and should be held criminally responsible for such behaviors.

Negligence

Throughout the case, the manager was provided with a report about the faulty struts screw that could not withstand some severe hurricanes. Before the hurricane hit the gulf the respective weather department continually upgraded its status as it was churning of the coast of Florida. It took over a week for the same to hit the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout this period the ACME management was pretty aware that there systems could not sustain such forces. In fact, within a week they could have assembled the engineering team to put in place respective mitigation measures. All the same, they ignored such updates and at end of it resulted to such colossal loss. On that note, it is appropriate to prefer criminal charges on those who were supposed to responds to the same because of their negligence. 

References

Deguen, S. & Zmirou-Navier, D. (2010). Social inequalities resulting from health risks related to ambient air quality--A European review. The European Journal Of Public Health , 20(1), 27-35. 

Gill, D., Picou, J., & Ritchie, L. (2011). The Exxon Valdez and BP Oil Spills: A Comparison of Initial Social and Psychological Impacts. American Behavioral Scientist , 56(1), 3-23.