Oil Rig Trash

You know, there are good and bad people in every group.

Yesterday I posted a my thoughts on the loss of life and disaster that was Deepwater Horizon. Working a rig offshore is a tough job even in the best of conditions. Long periods away from the family, long hours, isolated on a rig out in the ocean not to mention just doing the work of drilling a well and all the associated skills required. Add to that the isolation and bad weather and lack of actual ground and shelter on that ground that would be associated with a land based rig. My hat is off to the folks that do this work. And we need more of them now more than ever to increase our domestic capacity for oil exploration, pumping and refining.

Last night I saw that while the rig was still burning at least two of the families of folks missing form the rig have already files lawsuits. Do these yahoos have ambulance chasers in the family or on speed dial?

The family of one of the missing crewmembers filed a lawsuit Thursday in the Eastern District Court of Louisiana against Transocean and global energy giant BP, which was leasing it. In the complaint, Natalie Roshto, wife of missing rig worker Shane Roshto, claims Transocean and BP violated numerous federal regulations and failed to provide a competent crew, among other allegations.

So, based on their complete lack of knowledge of what actually occurred, the lack of an official investigation of any sort and despite the FACT that the rig was inspected multiple times since it's arrival on station without ANY safety violations and despite the FACT that the crew and rig just received a safety award, the rig was operated in an unsafe and illegal manner that directly caused this incident? Worthy of a lawsuit?

Based on that same lack of any intelligent information I can safely accuse the missing workers on whose behalf these lawsuits were filed of intentionally causing this incident in search of a quick payoff for them and their families. Based on that the residents of the Gulf Coast should file a class action suit against the estates of these two for the environmental damage they caused in their search for easy money. Or maybe the whole incompetent crew thing is her way of saying she should be compensated for having to deal with an incompetent husband?

Sorry but this is just a huge load of money grubbing crap. Yes there are times that lawsuits are needed to force companies that do bad things and get people hurt or killed to straighten up their act. Yes there are times personal injury lawyers are actually needed to hold people accountable for their negligent actions that cause pain, injury or death to another. But come on folks, the rig isn't even cold and they're filing lawsuits already? How about some compassion for the folks lost and a competent investigation into possible causes of this tragedy before people start affixing blame?