Round Two of BP Litigation: The Clean-Up Suits Begin


Amplify’d from blogs.wsj.com
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ust when you thought that with the numerous personal injury, economic harm, shareholder, RICO and all other manner of suits tied to the Gulf oil spill, there couldn’t
Just when you thought that with the numerous personal injury, economic harm, shareholder, RICO and all other manner of suits tied to the Gulf oil spill, there couldn’t possibly be another angle to get at this litigation, think again.

Round two of the suits, post-spill, has arrived.

Louisiana fisherman John Wunstell, Jr., has filed suit seeking class action status in state court in New Orleans against BP and calling for a court-monitored health monitoring program for volunteers and workers who say they have been exposed to the oil, fumes and other chemicals while cleaning up the spill. Click here for the complaint.

Wunstell, Jr. was hospitalized in late May for illnesses caused by the use of chemical dispersants, according to a news release from his attorney Stephen Herman. (Wunstell is being represented by Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar of New Orleans and Domengeaux, Wright, Roy & Edwards of Lafayette.)

In the suit, Wunstell says that he and others now suffer new risks of contracting lung cancer, esophageal cancer and leukemia because they didn’t have proper respiratory protection during the clean up. His suit says many diseases from toxic exposure are chronic in nature and take years to develop (sound familiar, fans of asbestos suits?), and monitoring will help prevent the development of disease.

Wunstell’s boat, Ramie’s Wish was assigned to the burn team and his assignment was to use containment equipment to gather the leaking oil, burn it at the surface and then observe the burning oil, gasses and other chemicals. He said companies that BP contracted with didn’t give him proper respiratory gear to filter out the bad stuff and that his boat was not cleaned of toxins as promised. He’s suffered headaches, nausea, chest pain, nose irritation and other illnesses.

BP did not immediately return a request for comment.

Read more at blogs.wsj.com
 

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