BP Safety Violations

Video Transcript:
Cindy Speaker: According to the Center for Public Integrity, oil giant BP has been issued 97% of the most serious safety violations by government safety inspectors over the last three years. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Jordan Barab, has said, “The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious systemic safely problem in their company.”

My guest today is Houston attorney Terry Bryant and he is well-acquainted with BP’s safety violations having handled some of the cases that resulted from the Texas City disaster back in 2005.

So Terry, thank you for joining me today.

Terry Bryant: Oh, thanks for having me.

Cindy Speaker: Well Terry, what do we know about BP’s safety violations?

Terry Bryant: Cindy, under the Freedom of Information Act, we know that BP received a total of 862 citations between June of 2007 and February of 2010 at two of their refineries in Texas City and Toledo, Ohio. As you said, that is 97% of the most serious violations issued to any company.

Cindy Speaker: That is just alarming.

Terry Bryant: It is. But what is even more alarming is that of the 862 citations they received, 760 were classified as egregious-willful, and another 69 is willful. Virtually all of the citations were for alleged violations of the OSHA Process Safety Management Standard.

Cindy Speaker: And my understanding is that this refers to things like the storage of flammable liquids and rules regarding emergency shutdown systems.

Terry Bryant: Correct. What is really unbelievable though is that this company was able to continue full operations even though they had 760 violations termed egregious-willful.

Cindy Speaker: And what exactly does that mean?

Terry Bryant: Well, OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee’s safety and health. These violations are so serious that OSHA can actually refer those that result in worker deaths to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Cindy Speaker: Do you think that will happen in the BP case regarding the 11 who died?

Terry Bryant: Well, I don’t know, but I think it probably will result in 11 wrongful death cases on the civil side of the docket.

Cindy Speaker: And what is the difference between a criminal case and a wrongful death case?

Terry Bryant: The difference between a criminal case and a civil case is the standard of proof. In a criminal case, one has to prove what is called “beyond a reasonable doubt”, whereas in a civil case, one simply has to prove more likely than not. In other words, just over 50%.

Cindy Speaker: You know Terry, we’ve seen this so many times. The Goliath corporate entities, they care much more about profits than people. I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know what the line is that must be crossed before there is a criminal prosecution. But as a layperson, I think it’s been crossed and if the criminal justice system gets involved, maybe we won’t see a company continue to operate when it’s been assessed as having serious systemic safety problems.

Terry Bryant: Yes. The indifference and disregard for workers in some of these large corporations is truly egregious.

Cindy Speaker: Terry, if someone wants more information, how can they reach you?

Terry Bryant: They can reach us by calling 1-800-444-5000 and they can also reach us on our website, terrybryant.com.

Cindy Speaker: Terry, thank you for your time today.

Terry Bryant: You’re welcome Cindy, it’s always a pleasure.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.

Transocean Oil Rig Explosion

Video Transcript:
Cindy Speaker: On April 20, 2010, an offshore oil rig owned by Transocean Limited exploded off the coast of Louisiana. Tragically, 11 crew members are missing and Transocean reports an additional 17 workers were injured.

We’re going to talk today with Houston attorney Terry Bryant who has handled these kinds of cases. And Terry, are you on the phone with me now?

Terry Bryant: Yes, I am. Thanks for having me.

Cindy Speaker: Well, thank you for being here. Well Terry, I was actually watching CNN last night and Douglas Brinkley, who is a noted historian, had some tough words for BP. One of the things he said is—and this is quote, “BP has been cutting a lot of corners on safety issues.” And then, he went on to comment on what he called a “milly mouth statement” and said that BP is not facing the consequences of what the company is responsible for. What do you think about that? What’s your take on that?

Terry Bryant: Well, I think BP has had their problems for a number of years. They had the explosion down in Texas City which brought a lot of attention to that company. And now, they have this disaster going on with getting attention from everywhere, including the White House.

Cindy Speaker: Right. What are the facts that we know?

Terry Bryant: Well, we have about four things that we do know and that is there are about 200,000 gallons of oil coming out of that disaster right now on a daily basis. This is going to have a devastating effect on wildlife. BP is making their usual response to these kinds of problems, which is to talk about how they hope to be safe and that sort of thing, and the disaster may eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Cindy Speaker: According to a news report I read last night, a lawsuit was already filed seeking damages of $5 million plus on undetermined punitive damages on behalf of affected Louisiana commercial industries, and my question to you is who should be calling an attorney right now?

Terry Bryant: Well, people that are injured or killed as a result of this tragedy should be seeking legal help now. As far as the fishermen, I can’t believe that the lawsuit is only for $5 million in damages. That seems awfully low to me.

Cindy Speaker: And Terry, is there any evidence yet that there are safety violations in this?

Terry Bryant: I think it’s too early to tell that and probably what will happen is that the government will launch an investigation in addition to BP’s internal investigation. So at some point, the facts will be determined and the cause of this tragedy will be determined.

Cindy Speaker: For these injured workers, what do you recommend that they do as a course of action, or their family members for those that did not survive?

Terry Bryant: I think it’s important that the family members of the workers who are missing are protected from a legal standpoint because British Petroleum has a whole team of lawyers that are working on this case. So it’s important that the workers have legal representation, as well the loved ones of the ones that are missing or may have been killed.

Cindy Speaker: Early in this conversation Terry, you mentioned the Texas City disaster. Was your firm involved in that?

Terry Bryant: Yes. We were involved in the Texas City disaster and represented a number of people that were horrifically injured by that blast.

Cindy Speaker: And how would you compare what’s happened recently to that disaster in terms of the scope of the damage?

Terry Bryant: From what I’ve heard, this appears to be one involving much greater damage both to individuals and to the environment.

Cindy Speaker: Well Terry, if someone has specific questions, how can they reach you?

Terry Bryant: They can call my toll free number at 1-800-444-5000, or find us on the web at TerryBryant.com.

Cindy Speaker: Well Terry, thanks so much for your time today.

Terry Bryant: Oh, thanks for having me.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker reporting.