Jury Trials OK’d for Medical Lawsuits over BP spill Clean Up

A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled oil spill cleanup workers who sue BP for medical problems that surface later in life have the right to make their case before a jury.

The BP oil spill medical settlement reached in 2012 was set up to pay cleanup workers and others who experienced certain illnesses during the immediate aftermath of the April 2010 disaster.

NOLA.com/The Times Picayune reports it was designed to keep medical claims out of the courtroom. But it left an option for claimants who develop cancer and other chronic ailments later on to file a separate lawsuit against BP.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said the settlement terms do not specify whether these so-called “back-end litigation option” cases must be tried before a judge or a jury.

If an individual wants a jury trial, they can ask for one, he said.

BP argued federal laws prevent such cases from going before a jury. The company sought to limit the cases to bench trials, which require a single judge to make a decision.

Jury trials last longer. Juries are also seen as more likely to award damages to claimants, particularly in medical cases, though there is no clear evidence pointing one way or the other.

The recent decision could impact hundreds of existing claims under a new interpretation of the settlement.

In November, Barbier ruled the settlement required workers claiming chronic medical problems needed to be diagnosed by a doctor before April 16, 2012, a date outlined in the agreement.

BP argued the date was a hard deadline for diagnoses. Plaintiffs’ lawyers said claimants simply needed to file a claim and get the process started by that point.

The ruling could force thousands of cleanup workers out of the settlement and into back-end litigation over their claims.

Topics Lawsuits Oklahoma