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Bp Oil Spill Analysis

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warning signs about the danger of the rig that eventually led to the deaths of 11 workers. The government also indicted former BP Vice President David Rainey on charges of hiding key information from Congress and lying to other law enforcement individuals about the real damage done to the Gulf oil spill. Rainey and Kaluza were eventually acquitted of the charges while Vidrine plead guilty and was sentenced to 10 months of probation (Stempel). There was public outcry over the lack of severe consequences for the BP employees involved, but this was not the end of legal issues for BP.

In December 2012, BP settled a class-action lawsuit with over 100,000 claimants largely made up of individuals and businesses that lost money and property because of the spill. BP initially estimated $7.8 Billion in damages for the class-action, but that number would grow due to $9.2 Billion by 2013. February 2013, the U.S. Federal Government and several state governments began a three stage civil trial to determine the breakdown of blame between BP, Transocean Ltd. (who owned the drilling rig), …show more content…

The immediate oil spill killed thousands of marine animals and put numerous endangered species at risk. The effect of oil in the Gulf translated to serious economic implications in the geographic area affected by the spill, with industries like commercial fishing and tourism adversely affected the greatest. The National Academy of Sciences determined that commercial fishing production decreased by 20% in the wake of the spill. Tourism and rental revenue decreased by 25% along areas affected by the oil spill (Brennan). BP spent billions of dollars in cleanup costs to mitigate the damage done to wildlife species to restore fisheries in the area and close to $200 million promoting tourism in the Gulf

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