U.S. Seeks Gross Negligence Charge in BP Oil Spill

Posted in BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon on September 5, 2012

The United States Justice Department on Wednesday reiterated it’s tough stance on the Gulf oil spill by pursuing a gross negligence charge against BP.

The announcement likely means that governement lawyers will try to prove in trial that BP engaged in gross negligence or willful misconduct leading up to the deadly rig explosion that killed 11 workers and spawned the nation’s worst offshore oil spill.

“Generally speaking, when you see the government use such strong language, it’s intended to signal its readiness to go to trial,” says David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section.

If BP is found guilty of gross negligence, which would require the government to prove the accident resulted from a conscious BP act or omission, the maximum level of penalty would rise to $17.6 billion from $4.5 billion using the government’s estimate of the size of the spill. In addition the announcement could also mean a long, drawn out trial process that would have additional ramifications for BP.