Jury Orders BP To Pay $100 Million In Damages In Toxic Exposure Trial - Update

(RTTNews) - According to the Buzbee Law Firm, a federal jury late Friday has ordered BP Products North America, Inc., a subsidiary of British oil giant BP Plc (BP: News ,BP.L: News ), to pay more than $100 million in damages for exposing contract workers to toxic substances at its Texas City oil refinery in April 2007.

Ten contract workers who claimed they were injured were each given $10 million in punitive damages. They were also paid actual damages ranging from $5,918 to $244,386 for medical expenses, mental anguish and lost income.

However, the company repeatedly denied that leaks had occurred on four separate dates in March and April 2007. About 110 workers at the refinery were sent to hospital after being exposed to toxic substances and a further 100 claims are yet to come. At the hospitals, men and women were collectively stripped of their clothes and hosed down for decontamination. Hospital records diagnosed "exposure to toxic chemical."

Meanwhile, BP said it was outraged by the verdict reached by the jury in Galveston, and would appeal as well as suggesting to the press that the entire incident may be a hoax by 'disgruntled workers.

In a statement, lead trial attorney Tony Buzbee said, "This verdict adds to the dangerous and deadly legacy of BP's Texas City plant. The jury recognized the safety problems at the plant and BP's efforts to discredit the workers. BP can claim to be 'outraged' by this jury's unanimous verdict, but the company's safety record in Texas City is abysmal."

Tony Buzbee, Sean O'Rourke, Nicholas Simon, and Peter Taaffe of the Buzbee Law Firm's Houston office represent seven of the 10 plaintiffs, while Arnold & Itkin LLP of Houston represented three plaintiffs at trial.

In October, Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA slapped $87.43 million in proposed penalties on BP for noncompliance to the settlement agreement reached between the company and OSHA in September 2005 after a refinery explosion in March 2005.

The London, the U.K.-based company's subsidiary in 2005 was fined $21 million, largest fine by OSHA for a massive explosion in the third largest refinery in the U.S. BP's Texas City refinery. The explosion was found to have been resulted due to safety violations by the company in the refinery. Fifteen people lost their lives as a result of the 2005 tragedy, and 170 others were injured.

BP closed Friday's regular trading session at $56.18, up $0.28 or 0.50% on a volume of 5.34 million shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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