Consumer Watchdog Joins Group of Advocates in Letter to Rep. Conyers to Assist Families of Deceased Oil Rig Workers
06-23-10 by Khan
Consumer Watchdog has joined groups promoting justice and consumer advocates in a letter to Rep. John Conyers (MI) expressing support for a bill introduced in the House that would help families recoup non-economic damages for the loss of loved ones in the high seas. The bill would apply retroactively to help the families related to the 11 workers who died on the Deepwater Horizon rig in April.
Currently, the families are only allowed to recover actual income and monetary losses, meaning the families would not be compensated for their true loss. Indeed, BP may be allowed to compensate one family a mere $1,000.
The letter simply proposes specific changes in the law to fix this problem so that a family can recoup meaningful compensation for their suffering, as victims of commercial airline accidents are able to do now.