12 Sep BP Pays $13 Million to Settle Refinery Lawsuit

BP Products North America, Inc. has agreed to settle citations issued against them for a sum total of $13 million. The citations were issued against the Texas City refinery. According to reporting on BLR, the refinery had a slew of issues with safety, resulting in an investigation that saw them received 270 failure to abate notices in 2009. In addition, a $30 million fine was levied in 2009 and, in 2010, the company agreed to pay a fine of $50.6 million to resolve the notices.

In September of 2005, an incident at the refinery ended up killing 15 workers and injuring many more. As a result of that, BP was cited for $21 million, according to the reporting. The additional fines were the results of failures to correct the deficiencies found after the investigation into the deaths.

Big Businesses, Big Responsibilities

The refinery industry, of course, is vitally important to the economy of Texas on the whole. These companies, however, operate in one of the most dangerous economic sectors in the world and, when they don't take measures to adequately protect their workers, those workers can quite easily end up losing their lives. For this reason, it's important to understand that employers have responsibilities to their employees and, when they fail in those responsibilities, fines levied by government agencies are not the only economic consequences they may face.

People who suffer injuries at work because the company they were working for didn't adhere to basic safety standards do have options in front of them. For example, if you suffered injuries or the death of a loved one because the company was negligent in not attending to lax safety issues, you may be able to file a lawsuit for wrongful death or, if it was you who are injured, you may be able to file a lawsuit to get compensation for your injuries and other hardships.

Many of the people who work in dangerous industries have very specialized skills. When they lose their ability to work in those industries due to injuries or illnesses that are directly the results of negligence on the part of their employers, those employees have the right to seek compensation. The first step is speaking with a lawyer who handles these types of claims. The initial consultation will generally be free, so there's no risk in sitting down with an attorney and asking them what they think about your situation and whether or not you should file a lawsuit.