Lawyers say oil rig workers asked to sign statement following Deepwater Horizon explosion

Lawyers say oil rig workers asked to sign statement following Deepwater Horizon explosion

www.foxnews.com

Workers aboard an exploding offshore drilling platform were told to sign statements denying they were hurt or witnessed the blast that rocked the rig, killed 11 and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the ocean, their attorneys said Tuesday.

Survivors floated for hours in life boats in the Gulf of Mexico following the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon, and were greeted by company officials onshore asking them to sign statements ...........

(visit the link for the full news article)

Is there something bigger in play here with the Deepwater Fiasco? The surviving are told to sign statements and if any refuse to sign statements, they are told they can not go home?

The men were kept for at least 10 hours at sea, then taken to a hotel on shore in Louisiana to sign the forms and be debriefed, according to Buzbee and court documents filed in lawsuits already brought by some Transocean employees. While such statements have no legal force and are a common industry practice, they are often used to attack the credibility of workers who later sue or testify in a lawsuit, Buzbee said.

Looks like BP and its partners might be getting off the hook for less damages as they have already made sure that any of the surviving employees seeking damages or claims that dispute the BP's version of events can be easily discredited.



www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

It's kind of sad that America works like this. Everyone scurrying to cover their own ass, financially of course, rather than putting the well being of their employees first.

I really hope a judge deems all of these signed statements invalid. I dont know much about this sort of law, so i am not sure how it will likely play out, but I think it's common sense that these guys couldnt care less about what that statement they signed said.

One guy had been up for 40 hours straight, and all of them were exhausted. Not to mention the fact that they had just witnessed a few co-workers die in an explosion. Plus the aspect of being out of work for a while, as their rig went up in flames and then to the bottom of the gulf.

right from the first time i saw the news report i thought that something wasn't right and now we hear this.
has anyone else noticed that the deaths have been rarely mentioned.
i first knew about the deaths from this site. didn't notice a mention on the news for a while

reply to post by Gamecock


From a legal standpoint, the statements would be admissible as evidence in a trial if the worker sued the oil company. The workers could rehabilitate their credibility by describing the circumstances under which the statements were signed. It would be up to a jury to determine whether or not the worker could be believed.

The oil companies would be limited in their use of a workers' statements in a trial in which the worker who made the statement was not a party. The statement would be inadmissible hearsay in this case.

After reading how ALL the backup features failed, I, too thought something was fishy.

This doesn't help my overview at all.

At first I thought things were fishy, now I just plain smell a

Originally posted by Tharsis
After reading how ALL the backup features failed, I, too thought something was fishy.

This doesn't help my overview at all.

At first I thought things were fishy, now I just plain smell a

They were confined and under duress?

Wouldn't that be enough to have them thrown out in the courts?

typical conniving humans that will save their behinds and screw over the little guy. I wouldn't be surprised after this that BP has trouble finding employees to work for them.

Originally posted by dragnet53
typical conniving humans that will save their behinds and screw over the little guy. I wouldn't be surprised after this that BP has trouble finding employees to work for them.

They won't have a problem finding employees, just look at worlds population that is looking for a job at the moment.

I don't think those documents will stand up in court at all. But for a company to withold the surviving members away from their family for 10hrs so they can sign a document waiving their rights is pretty disinginuous.

Considering they were probably in shock and had not seen a doctor, I'd say they weren't in a proper state of mind to determine whether they were unharmed or not...

And having these statements pre-conceived to say they hadn't witnessed anything is nothing short of conspiracy.

Damn...I said it...

Originally posted by prionace glauca


Is there something bigger in play here with the Deepwater Fiasco? The surviving are told to sign statements and if any refuse to sign statements, they are told they can not go home?

The men were kept for at least 10 hours at sea, then taken to a hotel on shore in Louisiana to sign the forms and be debriefed, according to Buzbee and court documents filed in lawsuits already brought by some Transocean employees. While such statements have no legal force and are a common industry practice, they are often used to attack the credibility of workers who later sue or testify in a lawsuit, Buzbee said.

Looks like BP and its partners might be getting off the hook for less damages as they have already made sure that any of the surviving employees seeking damages or claims that dispute the BP's version of events can be easily discredited.



www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I have been waiting for clarification from my connection on this information. But considering that they are oilfield consultants, and business is starting to ramp up in Texas again, she hasn't been able to get back with me yet. But i am going to tell you what i have been told so far:


"Our mudlogger is down there, and he says that under the rig they found a Korean submarine."

She isn't tin hatty at all. I know her through my mom and a couple of charity groups i work with. If she says it, it is true to me. Make of that what you will.

Originally posted by prionace glauca

Originally posted by dragnet53
typical conniving humans that will save their behinds and screw over the little guy. I wouldn't be surprised after this that BP has trouble finding employees to work for them.

They won't have a problem finding employees, just look at worlds population that is looking for a job at the moment.

I don't think those documents will stand up in court at all. But for a company to withold the surviving members away from their family for 10hrs so they can sign a document waiving their rights is pretty disinginuous.

For the 50 dollar an hour pay they get, i could bring you a bus load of over a hundred guy within the hour willing to work a rig. These are hardened roughnecks, too. People who trip pipe as a way of life. Their saying is "F#, fight, and trip pipe." That about sums it up.

I'm sure they were 'asked' to sign that paperwork.

They need to lock some corporate bigwigs and their attorneys up and throw away the key; just like these crooks are trying to do to the American public.