BP's horrible safety record

In addition to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, maritime and refinery accident attorneys in Texas need to know that BP has had a horrific safety record in its refineries. After the Texas City disaster, one would think that BP would clean up its act. Apparently not.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) checked 55 oil refineries operating in the United States between June 2007 and February 2010. Two of these refineries were owned by BP. Amazingly, those two refineries had 760 citations for "egregiously willful" safety violations. "Egregiously willful" for purposes of OSHA means "committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health." Even more amazingly, the other 53 refineries only received one such violation total. For all 53.

In the fall of 2009, United States safety regulators popped BP with a record $87, 400,000.00 fine for failing to fix various safety problems and violations at the Texas City refinery after the horrible 2005 explosion.

United States Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, in announcing the enormous fines, said old and new safety violations found by the OSHA at the refinery, the nation's third largest,"could lead to another catastrophe'' like the 2005 explosion. That explosion killed 15 workers and injured another 180.

Contact Texas refinery accident and maritime lawyer Scott Nelson if you or a loved one has been hurt in a maritime or refinery accident. Mr. Nelson serves Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi and all of Texas.