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BP Oil Spill Lawyers

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Have you suffered an injury or sustained damages due to the BP oil spill? Has your business experienced losses due to this tragic event? If so, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit for financial compensation.

Contact the BP oil spill lawyers at Arguello Law Firm today at 1-888-CLAIM-68 (1-888-252-4668) to learn more about your legal options.

Who Is Eligible To Claim?

Despite using various oil containment devices, due to the enormous area that this oil spill covered (approximately 16,000 total miles), many individuals and businesses were directly affected by this disaster.

If you have suffered:

….or have a claim for ‘failure to pay’ under BP’s Vessels of Opportunity program, you may be able to receive compensation.

If you are unsure if you are eligible, contact us today. We can help determine if you have sufficient grounds to file a lawsuit.

BP Oil Spill Damages

On April 20, 2010, an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico named “Deepwater Horizon” caught fire and sank two days later. Due to a combination of factors, an estimated 4.8 MILLION barrels of crude oil continued to spill into the surrounding waters after the rig sank, causing extensive and widespread damage to most of the Gulf Coast region.

In fact, more than 490 miles of coastline stretching from Louisiana to Florida (including Mississippi and Alabama) were directly impacted by the spill, with many areas still being contaminated by oil.

If you, someone you love or your business was affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, that victim may be eligible to receive compensation for their losses.

To find out how we can help, simply fill out the “Free Case Evaluation” form located to the left.

What Caused the Accident?

Considered to be an “ultra-deepwater” drilling rig, the Deepwater Horizon platform operated in more than 5,000 ft of water in an area known as the “Macondo Prospect” –  an area considered to be part of an exclusive economic zone of the United States.

It’s important to note that at those depths, the machinery and other related equipment used in the exploration and drilling of oil is put in extreme, highly-pressurized environments. This pressure is considered to have been a contributing factor to the explosion that sank the rig.

In studies released after the event, it was determined that there were a combination of issues that contributed to the explosion, which included:

Heavy mud – used to keep gases from escaping up the drilling pipes, heavy mud was removed from the drilling equipment and replaced with sea water before enough cement had been pumped to the drilling location to seal the well.

Cement – a new type of cement was used in an effort to speed up the curing time of the cement that was supposed to cap the oil well.  This decreased curing time is believed to have generated additional heat which caused existing gas in the surrounding rock to expand and explode, forcing its way past the drying cement and into the drilling equipment. Due to the lack of heavy mud (which had been replaced with sea water), the gas was able to escape rapidly up the drilling pipes.

Blowout preventer – this very large device is considered a major line of security when drilling an oil well, as its role is to cut off any piping on the ocean floor in the event of equipment failure. This method generally ensures that as soon as the pipe is cut, no more gas can rise up through the piping to the drilling rig on the surface. Unfortunately, the blowout preventer failed and the piping was not cut in time.

It has been determined that many of these problems were preventable and that there has been a general level of negligence on the part of both Halliburton (the company contracted to perform the cement and mud work on the rig) and BP (British Petroleum, the company that was actually leasing the rig).

Who Was Involved?

Built by the South Korean company “Hyundai Heavy Industries”, the Deep Horizon drilling rig was designed to be an exploratory type of drilling rig. What this means is that it was created to find oil, not necessarily to extract it.

There were a number of companies involved in the ownership and operation of this rig, including:

Transocean – a Swiss based company and owner of the Deepwater Horizon – is one of the world’s largest offshore drilling rig contractors and rents mobile drilling platforms, equipment and personnel to those that have a need for their services.

Halliburton – incorporated in the United States but with dual headquarters located in both Dubai and Houston, Halliburton is one of the largest oilfield services companies in the world, and operates in more than 70 countries worldwide. Halliburton was responsible for plugging the well with cement once it had been drilled.

BP – also previously known as “British Petroleum”, B.P. is a multinational oil and gas company, with its headquarters located in London, UK. Referred to as the third largest energy company in the world, B.P. leased the drilling rig from Transocean.

While each of these companies have constantly denied any wrong-doing in the events that led up to the Deepwater Horizon oil explosion and subsequent disaster, the U.S. Government has enforced multi-billion dollar fines on these companies in an attempt to provide compensation to those affected by the spill, and to cover the costs of any environmental clean up in the Gulf of Mexico area.

What Industries Were Affected?

Due to the location of this explosion, many coastal industries and communities were affected by this disaster – with the winds and tides bringing vast amounts of crude oil onto the shores of the areas located close to the spill.

In fact, some areas on the Atlantic coast of the United States also reported instances of oil contamination, which caused great concern for many of the maritime related industries in the area.

Some of the industries that were affected included:

Tourism – due to the highly publicized nature of this environmental disaster, many families simply cancelled their planned vacations to this region…. With many existing vacationers leaving early due to the beaches being closed because of health concerns.

Commercial Fishing –shortly following the spill, the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) closed the area to all recreational and commercial fishing in any affected waters, from Pensacola Bay right up to the mouth of the Mississippi River.  This area stretched approximately 86,000 square miles or MORE THAN 35% of all Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

An initial inquiry into the losses experienced due to this closure was estimated at $2.5 BILLION.

Real Estate – with many of the area’s best attributes being associated with the pristine beaches and wildlife in the Gulf Coast region,  the resulting damages dramatically lowered property values, and in combination with the temporary closure of the fishing industry in the region, many renters were forced to look for work in other areas of the country.

This left many land and home owners without tenants, and therefore responsible for ensuring that any mortgage payments were met without the income from those tenants.

How Our BP Oil Spill Lawyers Can Help

The entire team at Arguello Law Firm understands the trauma that many individuals and their families faced as a result of this environmental tragedy.

With our head office located in Houston TX, we proudly provide comprehensive, cost-effective legal representation to BP oil spill victims in:

….and many other towns and cities throughout the region.

With the determination to stand up against large firms and corporations and the experience to fight for your MAXIMUM compensation amount, the attorneys at our firm are ready to help you today.

To find out more, contact us at 1-888-CLAIM-68 (1-888-252-4668) and a member from our intake staff will quickly connect you to one of our BP oil spill attorneys that is best suited to handling your specific case.

Alternatively, simply fill out the “Free Case Evaluation” form located at the top of this page.

How can we take a stand for you?
No fees until you collect*