BP Hit With $100 Million Verdict

A federal jury awarded 10 contract workers more than $100 million in damages due to inhalation injuries that they claim they received while working at the BP Texas City, Texas, refinery during March and April of 2007. The lion's share of the award was for punitive damages that amounted to $10 million for each plaintiff, according to the verdict, which was reached in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The inhalation injuries resulted from exposure to carbon disulfide. Although the decision is unrelated to a 2005 explosion and fire at the plant that killed 15 workers, the plaintiffs' claims cited a history of negligence at the BP refinery and the company's failure to provide a safe workplace because of poor maintenance. The three-week trial is the first of several, according to attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing some 110 workers with pending claims against the company. BP said it intends to appeal the verdict.