On
every one of those dives during that period of time, David Hogan dove
into waters that were contaminated with both the crude oil and the
Corexit® dispersants," the complaint states.
Hogan says that on
his first dive, in June 2010, "he immediately noticed that something was
different from his prior diving experiences," and that "the oil seemed
to have sunk considerably deeper into the depths of the Gulf waters than
he had ever seen or experienced before. He immediately terminated his
dive and returned to the surface, only to find that his wetsuit looked
entirely different than it had ever looked before when he had dived into
waters with an oil spill."
Hogan says neither ConocoPhillips nor
Specialty Offshore provided him or his team with any information about
NALCO's Corexit dispersants.
"Expressing concern for the safety
of himself and his dive team, he contacted the ConocoPhillips onsite
supervisor, who gave him a 'BP Hotline' to call if people had any
concerns with respect to health and safety," according to the complaint.
"Upon
calling that number, a person answered, identifying themselves as being
with BP. After expressing his concern with respect to what he had seen
and experienced during his brief dive, that BP spokesperson told Mr.
Hogan there was nothing for him to be concerned about, but that he would
have one of BP's health and safety people come out to the
ConocoPhillips platform to talk to Mr. Hogan and his dive team.
"Within
the hour, a helicopter landed on the platform and a man who introduced
himself as being a BP representative got out of the helicopter came over
to talk to Mr. Hogan.
"BP's 'health and safety man' represented
and assured Mr. Hogan and his dive that, notwithstanding the fact that
they would be diving and spending a considerable amount of time in the
Deepwater Horizon's oil spill, there was absolutely nothing harmful or
hazardous to their safety or health in the oil, in the water, or
whatever was causing the oil to sink so deep beneath the surface.
"In
fact, when this case is tried, the evidence will show that this BP
'health and safety man' made Mr. Hogan feel as though it was foolish for
Mr. Hogan to have called at all, and it seemed as if the BP 'health and
safety man' had wasted his time flying all the way out to where Mr.
Hogan and his dive team were located, for such a trivial matter.
"Mr.
Hogan and the BP 'health and safety man' specifically talked about
whether Mr. Hogan and his dive team would need to change to 'haz-mat'
dive gear if there was a concern for safety and health in what was in
the water and oil spill; however, the BP 'health and safety man'
reassured Mr. Hogan that 'haz-mat' diving gear was not necessary since
there was absolutely nothing in the oil or anything mixed with the oil
that was hazardous or of any concern, from a health standpoint to Mr.
Hogan and his dive crew.
"Based on that information," Hogan says,
he and his crew worked 18- to 20-hour days for the next 1½ to 2 weeks,
in water that was "consistently contaminated with oil for a
considerable distance below the surface." Hogan says the water also was
contaminated with Corexit.
He and his team worked in the oil- and
Corexit-contaminated water for 5 months for a variety of defendants,
Hogan says, including ConocoPhillips, Xplore Oil & Gas and
Stuyvesant Dredging.
"Again, at the end of each diving day, Mr.
Hogan and his dive team's wetsuits would look like something they had
never seen before prior to starting these diving operations back in June
2010," the complaint states.
Hogan says at least one team member started having health problems before they finished their work for Stuyvesant Dredging.
"Two of the dive team members have since committed suicide," the complaint states.
Hogan says due to the assurances they got from BP's "health and safety
man," they did not initially blame their health problems on the
contaminated waters.
"However, as Mr. Hogan's health
problems progressed and did not abate, he ultimately contacted a
physician in Louisiana who had been treating hundreds of patients who
had come into contact with the oil and Corexit® dispersants," according
to the complaint.
"By August, 2011, medical testing and medical
evaluation by one or more physicians familiar with exposure to the oil
spill and, particularly, exposure to the Corexit® dispersants, led
physicians to inform Mr. Hogan that his progressing medical problems
were caused by the contact with the oil spill during his diving
operations between June and November, 2010.
"Through additional
testing and medical evaluation, by November 16, 2011, Mr. Hogan had been
diagnosed as suffering from neurotoxicity 'related to chronic and
cumulative exposure to chemical and heavy metals associated with the
Gulf oil spill and dispersant.'
"At this time, Mr. Hogan is
suffering from a myriad of health issues related to his exposure to the
oil spill and NALCO Corexit® dispersants, including but not limited to
the fact that he cannot
walk, his vision has progressed to being
legally blind in his left eye and his most recent eye examination shows
that he continues to lose sight in his right eye, and for all intents
and purposes, is a paraplegic."
Hogan says that before his
exposure to the chemicals he "was a very gregarious, healthy man" who
climbed 14,400-foot Mount Rainier in May 2010.
"Since
November 2010, he has lost 60 pounds and is wheelchair-bound. If that
were not enough, David has also suffered cognitive problems, seizures,
vertigo," the complaint states. (Graph 63)
Hogan says he is rapidly losing vision in his right eye.
Named
as defendants are British Petroleum Exploration & Production Inc.;
BP America Inc.; BP America Production Company; BP Products North
America Inc.; BP plc; Halliburton Energy Services Inc.; Transocean Ltd.;
Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc.; Transocean Deepwater Inc.;
Transocean Holdings LLC; NALCO Company; Specialty Offshore Inc.;
ConocoPhillps; Xplore Oil & Gas LLC; Stuyvesant Dredging Company;
and Stuyvesant Dredging Inc.
Transocean owned the Deepwater
Horizon rig; Halliburton performed cement work on the Macondo well
beneath the rig before the blowout.
Hogan seeks punitive
damages for gross negligence and negligence under general maritime law
and the Jones Act, from NALCO for products liability under general
maritime law, and punitive damages for past and future physical pain and
suffering, past and future mental pain, suffering and anguish, past and
future medical bills and lost wages.
He and his wife are represented by Craig Lewis, of Houston
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/05/04/46224.htm
|
(5-4-12) Exposure to chemical dispersants BP used in the Gulf of Mexico
oil spill left a commercial diver with seizures, unable to walk and
going blind - and two members of his dive team committed suicide, the
man claims in Harris County Court.
No comments:
Post a Comment