Five Ways Transocean’s Limited Liability Filing May Affect Your Oil Rig Lawsuit

This week in Houston, Transocean, Ltd., has petitioned to limit their liability regarding last month’s Deepwater Horizon offshore rig accident. This federal court filing involves a law that is well over a century old and other very complex legal issues – but what does it mean for the families of the offshore oil rig accident victims?

Here’s what you absolutely need to know about limitation of liability:

• The statute of limitations for filing a claim against Transocean will be significantly shortened. While the traditional statute of limitations for these vessel accident cases is three years, this petition will force those with potential lawsuits to act much more quickly.

• Transocean will get to choose their venue for their lawsuits. While lawsuits have already been filed in Houston, Texas, and Louisiana, this petition will lock in Houston as the venue for litigation as the case moves forward. 

• Limitation of liability proceedings will slow down and complicate the overall legal process. A Houston judge could place a stay on all pending lawsuits while ruling on the petition – and all of the plaintiffs’ attorneys must work together in order to move forward, something that can take some time especially when dealing with dozens of lawsuits.

• Transocean’s liability could be reduced to $27 million. If the petition is successful, the oil rig equipment company could only be made responsible for a fraction of the damage that the offshore rig explosion caused. While the company expects to receive $560 million in insurance money for their losses, they may only have to pay out the amount that the rig is worth when resting at the bottom on the Gulf of Mexico.

• Transocean is attempting to limit their exposure to jury decisions. Juries are often partial to workers and individuals over large, faceless corporations – and Transocean will work hard to have a single judge make the calls regarding their oil rig explosion case.