Oleander Benton, a worker who survived the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig deep in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, has reached an undisclosed settlement with British Petroleum, Transocean Ltd., and other companies responsible for operating the Deepwater Horizon rig. Benton suffered a severe personal injury in the incident and, according to her claim settlement, was seeking $5.5 million in damages.
Benton claimed that the defendants’ negligence led to the explosion and fire, directly causing her injuries. She is satisfied enough with the personal injury settlement that she asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to dismiss the lawsuit in a Feb. 19 filing in federal court in New Orleans, asserting that all of her claims have been “amicably settled,” Bloomberg reports.
This lawsuit was among at least 50 wrongful death or personal injury cases filed by survivors or relatives of the 126-member crew that was aboard the rig when it exploded off the Louisiana coast in April 2010. The tragic accident killed 11 workers, injured many more in the subsequent fire, and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the gulf. The collapse of the Deepwater Horizon is widely considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Additionally, BP faces scores of lawsuits from businesses that claim their properties and livelihoods were ruined by the spill. The personal injury settlement is unsurprising in light of the fact that the British oil company is attempting to settle those claims prior to trial.