Transocean Filed Its Limitation of Liability Action Immediately After Congressional Hearings to Avoid Public Censure, Said a Maritime Lawyer at Fitts Zehl LLP

HOUSTON, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The April 20, 2010 oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and injured more than 100 after suffering a catastrophic blowout. The owner of the rig, Transocean Ltd, is already attempting to limit its liability for the blast by filing a petition in the Southern District of Texas seeking to limit its overall liability to just over $26 million.

"There are limited circumstances when vessel owners are able to limit liability under the Act.  We don't expect that any of those circumstances will apply here," said Ryan Zehl, who is currently representing several workers who were injured in the Transocean explosion.

For the limitation to work, Transocean must prove that it did not have prior knowledge of the explosion's cause and, as a result, could not have prevented it.  If they show this, Transocean's total liability could be limited to the value of the Deepwater Horizon after it exploded and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, which—according to its filings with the court—is $26,764,083.00, well below its pre-accident value of $650 million.

"The Act was passed before insurance covered against disasters, said Zehl. Because vessels, like the Deepwater Horizon, are now insured, the vessel's owner can—and in this case would if the limitation applies—collect more in insurance proceeds than it has to pay out in damages.  Today, it's just an antiquated remedy that gives companies like Transocean a way to escape responsibility."

Transocean deliberately waited to file the limitation until after the Congressional hearings to avoid criticism for taking such insensitive actions in response to a terrible tragedy," said Zehl. "It appears that the company is more concerned about its bottom line than the lives of its employees and their families."

About Fitts Zehl LLP

Fitts Zehl LLP is a national maritime and personal injury law firm that focuses on representing workers who were injured or lost their lives in offshore and other work place explosions.  The firm is currently representing several workers who were injured during the Transocean Deepwater Horizon explosion, and has recovered millions in damages on behalf of injured offshore and refinery workers in connection with 3 of the largest work place explosions since 2005: the BP Texas City explosion, and both the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion and the International Paper explosion in 2008.

For a free consultation with one of our rig explosion lawyers call 1-800-993-4887.  

SOURCE Fitts Zehl LLP