A well supervisor faces false statement charges after allegedly making false statements to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) concerning the blowout preventer on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico. A blowout preventer is a well component that is used to prevent the release of hydrocarbons and to maintain well control.
According to the Bill of Information, the supervisor allegedly made false statements to government officials on two separate occasions. First, the government claims that he fabricated a blowout preventer test chart in the hopes of showing that the components had passed the required tests. Second, the Bill of Information alleges that he attempted to cover up this fabrication by telling the BSEE that he had retrieved the wrong chart, despite the fact that he knew the chart had been falsified.
The supervisor faces up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each count.
Effect of Falsified Equipment Test Records on Offshore Worker Safety
The most troubling aspect of these allegations is the unnecessary dangers that this poses for the people who work in the offshore oil and gas industry. Critically, the effectiveness of the blowout preventer was one of the central issues in determining the cause for the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 that cost the lives of 11 workers and led to one of the greatest environmental disasters in history.
Regulations are in place to require equipment testing for the sole purpose of preventing events like the Deepwater Horizon incident from occurring in the first place. If people disregard those regulations or, even worse, openly try to get around them, the results could be disastrous, both in terms of safety and environmental impacts.
Louisiana Maritime Lawyer
Offshore workers face significant dangers as it is, but sadly, these risks can be increased dramatically if people ignore regulations designed to protect worker safety. If you’ve been hurt in an accident while working offshore, The Mahone Firm is here to help.
Call (504) 564-7342 today to speak with a New Orleans personal injury attorney about your case and start working to get compensated for your injuries.
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