"The Obama administration may have a tough time making British Petroleum pay for all the cleanup costs of the Gulf Coast oil spill. BP has agreed to pay those costs, but the law sets a liability cap for oil companies at $75 million. The cleanup costs and the losses for fisherman and other industries are expected to exceed that amount."
Will other industries or businesses, such as fishing, be able to sue BP for damages? Do oil companies have liability insurance for destruction to the environment that badly affects other businesses and individuals?
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2010/May/Federal-Law-to-Limit-BP-Liability-in-Oil-Spill/
Apparently, BP had been asking fisherman to sign wiavers that would limit BP liability. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told "Good Morning America" today that it was unacceptable for BP to ask fishermen it hired to help with the cleanup of the Gulf oil spill to sign waivers that would limit the company's liability, and the practice is now stopped.
"They [BP] are going to pay for the federal government's cost, for the states and most importantly for the individuals and communities that are going to be most directly impacted," Napolitano said.
Unless it's over $75 million?
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/oil-spill-spreads-gulf-bp-calls-liability-waivers/story?id=10536850
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More on the above topic: it is "estimated BP could pay anywhere between $5 billion and $15 billion for the cleanup, damage claims and lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteFederal law sets a $75 million limit how much an oil company has to pay for damages such as lost wages and economic suffering. But lawyers said the cap can be lifted if BP is found to have failed to meet federal safeguards or was otherwise grossly negligent.
People can also pursue claims in state court and file for damages through the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which was established after the Exxon Valdez. The fund, which collects 8 cents from the industry for every barrel of oil produced or imported to the U.S., has about $1.6 billion available to cover damages."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36925027/ns/business-us_business/
I don't understand how the Fed can put a limit on liability for oil companies when it's our environment and wildlife that are really paying for this... There is no limit on the negative effects that our environment and wildlife will be facing now and in the future due to another human mistake. It's sad that as humans, our knowledge is so great; Yet we do so little to preserve our planet and do so much to destroy it.
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