Injuries, Deaths, Pollution Resulting from Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and sinking.

My first thought when watching them pour millions of gallons of water on the burning oil rig was “what are they doing - they are going to sink that ship and cause the biggest pollution mess ever when that pipe breaks”.

Well, that’s just what happened.  The biggest oil spill in U.S. history from a vessel at sea has now occurred, and “they” don’t know how to fix it. 

Under the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code) a vessel operator is supposed to have in place a contingency plan to deal with emergencies.  Obviously, Transocean, BP, Halliburton and Cameron didn’t.  As a result, 11 men have suffered wrongful death, scores more have been injury, and the shores of the Gulf, and maybe the Atlantic Ocean east coast are threatened with major environmental disaster.

I currently am part of a legal advisory group studying the legal ramifications of the applicable laws that are designed to help victims of this disaster, including the Jones Act, the Death on the High Seas Act, the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”) (and its related Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund) and the general maritime law.  Our advice may lead to significant changes to the Limitation of Shipowner’s Liability Act and the Death on the High Seas Act, so that fair compensation from all responsible parties to such a disaster is obtained.

We are representing numerous fishermen and shrimp boat operators (shrimpers) in their economic loss claims resulting from this explosion.  We invite others who need representation to contact us for  a free consultation about your rights.

Paul T. Hofmann

Hofmann & Schweitzer

360 W. 31st St.                    1130 Route 202 South, A7

New York, NY 10001             Raritan, New Jersey 08869

212-465-8840                        908-393-5662

paulhofmann@hofmannlawfirm.com

www.hofmannlawfirm.com