Judge Susan Criss in Galveston, Texas, today refused to end a lawsuit in which Alisa Dean, 33, Tracy Donaie, 33, and Henry Rivera, 39, are seeking about $42 million in joint future medical costs, plus $5 million each for mental anguish. They claim BP didn't pay their bills promptly as promised.
The ruling forces the company toward a Nov. 26 trial on claims once considered settled with the workers, three of the most seriously injured survivors of a March 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery.
``The facts are not unique, but everything else about this case certainly is,'' the judge said today in denying BP's request to decide the case in its favor. Criss presides over more than 3,000 lawsuits related to the explosion, which killed 15 and injured hundreds.
Under settlements reached soon after the accident, London- based BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, agreed to pay all the workers' past and future medical expenses promptly.
The company has so far avoided trial by settling roughly 1,350 blast-related claims, including all those involving worker deaths, from a $1.6 billion fund set aside for that purpose. BP has admitted responsibility for the explosion, which occurred when an octane-boosting unit overflowed as it was being restarted. Gasoline vapors spilled into an inadequate vent system and ignited in a blast felt five miles away.
Overdue Bills Paid
In October 2006, BP paid nearly $1 million in overdue medical bills for the three workers, saying the delay was caused by an administrative mistake.
The workers want to force BP to make lump-sum payments to cover their future medical expenses rather than pay their bills through reimburse-as-you-go medical trusts established by their settlements.
BP's lawyers urged Criss today to dismiss the case or risk a rush of other blast victims trying to renegotiate their settlements.
``They weren't stiffed on their bills,'' BP lawyer Ronnie Krist told Criss. ``They were paid late.'' If the victims are allowed to reopen their settlements, ``everybody's going to come back for a second helping,'' he said.
``The delay in paying the medical bills was unfortunate, but no one's medical care was affected,'' company spokesman Neil Chapman said in an interview.
Workers' Lawyers
The workers' lawyers said they don't want to reopen the settlements. Instead, they want BP to pay the workers immediately for their future medical expenses because the victims don't trust BP to honor their agreements.
``BP's lawyers are right. When a settlement is signed, that should be the end of the deal,'' David Perry, the victims' lawyer, told Criss. ``These injured people should not have to come back to court to make the defendant do what it promised to do. We're here because BP didn't keep its commitments.''
Dean, Donaie and Rivera were contract workers attending a meeting in a trailer about 120 feet from the operating unit that exploded. The trailer was demolished.
BP's Krist stressed that BP has fully funded the renewable trusts established to cover the workers' medical needs for the rest of their lives.
``Not one dime is owed,'' he told the judge. ``The future payments are not in jeopardy.''
Alton Todd, another BP lawyer, told Criss reopening the settlement might give the victims ``double recovery'' for their losses.
What Workers Want
``They want the money now, but they want the medical trusts too,'' Todd said. ``They can't have both.''
The workers' lawyers replied that they don't want bigger settlements from BP, just timely payment of what BP has already agreed to pay.
``It took us a year, a lawsuit and hospital liens to get timely performance'' of the original settlement terms, said Gerry Birnberg, another lawyer for the workers. ``BP victimized these people on March 23, 2005. Then BP victimized them again by depriving them of the peace of mind that their medical bills would be taken care of.''
The case is Dean v. BP Products North America, 06-CV-0387, in the 212th Judicial District Court, Galveston County, Texas (Galveston).
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