The processes used to get crude oil out of the ground and to refineries involve numerous types of equipment, including drills, pipelines, capping wells, and more. Oil spills occur on a regular basis, with millions of gallons of oil being released into lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans.
According to Live Science and information obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy, approximately 1.3 million gallons of oil are spilled each year.1 This figure does not account for major spills or other such accidents, which could increase the number significantly.
What Causes Oil Spills?
The causes of oil spills can be accidental or intentional. Some of the more common reasons oil spills occur include:
- Faulty Equipment
- Equipment Failure
- Human Errors and Mistakes
- Carelessness
- Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Other Natural Disasters
- Acts of War
- Terrorists
- Intentional Dumping
The largest recorded oil spill in the world, to date, was done intentionally by Iraqi troops during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. As the troops were retreating from Kuwait, under orders, they intentionally opened valves and dumped between 252 and 336 million gallons of oil directly into the Persian Gulf.2
Oil Spills Facts
Oil spills can occur all around the world and not just in the United States. However, the number of oil spills since data started to be collected from the 1960s on does indicate the majority of spills have occurred in or near U.S. waters, as follows:1
- There have been 267 oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.
- There have been 140 spills in the northeast U.S.
- 127 spills have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Even though the Persian Gulf War caused the largest oil spill on record, there have only been 108 documented spills in the Persian Gulf.
- 75 oil spills have occurred in the North Sea.
- In Japan, there have been 60 documented oil spills.
- There have been 52 spills recorded in the Baltic Sea.
- In the United Kingdom, 49 spills have occurred in the English Channel.
- In Singapore and Malaysia, there have been 39 documented oil spills.
- There have been 33 spills recorded that have occurred off the coastal regions of France and Spain.
- Korea has the lowest number of document oil spills, with 32.
- From 1970 through 2009, around 1.7 billion gallons of oil were spilled due to tanker accidents, based on data provided by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation.
- In the United States, from 1971 through 2000, the Coast Guard recorded over 250,000 oil spills in U.S. waters.
- Tanker oil spills from 1971 to 2000 accounted for approximately 45 percent of all of the oil spilled in the U.S. waters.
- During the same period (1971 to 2000), 16 percent of oil spills came from pipelines.
- Onshore pipeline oil spills contributed 92 percent of the oil spills into U.S. waters.
- Offshore pipeline oil spills were only 2 percent of all oil spillages from 1971 to 2000.
Who Is Responsible for Oil Spills?
Responsibility depends on the causes of the oil spill in the first place. If the oil spill can be traced to faulty equipment or equipment failure, then oil companies could be held liable. Even in the event their employees make mistakes or errors that lead to an oil spill, the oil company may still be responsible.
Assigning responsibility is important, as it determines who should be held accountable for cleanup costs, personal injuries, and property damages. There can be both direct and indirect injuries and damages due to an accidental oil spill.
To illustrate, after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, it released 210 million gallons of oil and continued to release around 200 million gallons of oil each day for almost 3 months. In addition, 11 people died and 17 were injured, along with countless others who were made sick from the impact the spill had on the environment.3
What Causes Oil Rig Explosions?
The causes for oil rig explosions are similar to those for oil spills. They could occur from equipment failure, faulty equipment, human error and mistakes, and so on. In some cases, oil rig workers will discover something is wrong and attempt to initiate proper shutdown procedures, but, due to extenuating circumstances, explosions still occur, injuring and killing workers.
Who Is Responsible for Oil Rig Explosions?
In the case of the Deepwater Horizon incident, BP, Halliburton, and Transocean were held accountable. Maritime injury lawyers represented individual parties against BP and others responsible for the explosion and resulting oil spill. This resulted in billions of dollars being paid in settlements.
Sadly, Transocean was fully aware of the risks and made a huge profit by insuring the Deepwater Horizon oil rig for twice its true value and ended up receiving $270 million after it exploded.3
Other Deepwater Horizon Incident Facts
- The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion is considered to be one of the worst U.S. oil explosions and spills in U.S. waters.
- Within six months after the disaster, over 8,000 fish, sea turtles, and other animals had died.
- A quarter of the Louisiana coastline was polluted as a result of the oil spill.
- Cleanup crews have experienced a wide range of health problems as a result of working on cleaning up the oil spill.
- The environmental impacts and effects from the 2010 explosion and oil spill are still being experienced today.
How Can a Maritime Injury Attorney Help?
When an oil spill occurs, it can have far-reaching effects aside from oil industry workers. It could result in impacts to other industries, like the shrimp industry and tourist industry in the Gulf States after the Deepwater Horizon incident. In addition, it could lead to illnesses and health problems for people exposed to oil spill contamination during cleanup or from indirect exposure.
A maritime injury attorney can help those affected by the impacts of oil spills and explosions to ensure they receive reasonable compensation. It is no secret working in the oil and gas industry is much riskier than other professions, and employers need to be held accountable when accidents occur.
It is part of an employer’s responsibly to provide safe working conditions for their employees. This includes verifying the oil rig, tanker, or vessel is in proper working order and well-maintained. When work conditions are not kept safe, it can increase risks for accidents and injuries, including death.
At Maintenance and Cure, part of the law firm of Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., our maritime injury lawyers have represented workers and family members of workers who have been injured or killed while working on oil rigs and tankers.
Our experienced lawyers settled a case in 2009 for $18 million for a young man who fell off a vessel in March 2008 and nearly drowned. However, by the time he was discovered, his injuries were rather severe, and he was left in a vegetative state. It is believed our settlement is one of the largest, if not the largest, settlement recoveries under the Jones Act in history.
While our maritime injury lawyers cannot promise such a huge settlement for every accident where personal injuries or death occurs, we can promise to work diligently to ensure you receive a fair, just, and reasonable settlement for the injuries you received or for the death of your loved one.
For additional information about maritime laws, including maintenance and cure and Jones Act protections afforded maritime workers, please feel free to contact Maintenance and Cure at 1-800-836-5830 to speak with a maritime injury attorney now!
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