NEW ORLEANS (CN) - Citizens across the Gulf Coast are holding their breath after BP claimed that it has stopped the catastrophic oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. But the gusher of lawsuits continues, accusing BP and its partners of a slew of mistakes in the days before and after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil well. One class action blames 16 maritime companies for setting off the leak, by drowning the burning oil rig with water, causing it to twist on its foundation and snap off the pipe.
Among the federal complaints filed this week are a class action blaming 16 maritime companies for the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon by drowning it with water after the April 20 explosion; a seaman who claimed he was fired after falling sick from exposure to toxic chemicals in the spill; and a cleanup worker who says BP owes him compensation after he fell over a second-story railing of his hotel.
In the class action filed on behalf of the sunken Deepwater Horizon, three classes of plaintiffs - landowners; commercial fishermen, shrimpers, oyster harvesters, charter boat operators; and oil industry workers - say the gush of oil from the broken wellhead could have been avoided if the Deepwater Horizon had not sink.
The class claims that when "the rig turned and began to sink, the pipe connected to the wellhead collapsed and fell to the seafloor," unleashing the catastrophic geyser of oil, 1 mile deep under the Gulf.
On the night of April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11, then catching fire, 12 vessels owned by 16 named maritime companies were in the area came to its aid, according to the complaint.
The class claims that the initial damage estimates from the fire were low, "with the overwhelming majority of the oil burning and not spilling into the ocean."
At the time, "the oil rig appeared to be floating, fully buoyant but on fire because it was still connected to a well source of highly pressurized oil and gas," the class claims. It adds that the Deepwater Horizon did not "appear in any imminent danger of sinking."
As fireboats arrived at the burning rig, "with little to no time to assess the damage and condition of the Deepwater Horizon," eight or more fireboats drenched the rig with seawater, at a rate of 10,000 to 50,000 gallons per minute.
As the fireboats blasted the rig with water, its upper compartments filled up, causing the rig's center of gravity to shift, making it turn on its pontoons.
The class claims that "no industry procedure, no vessel procedure, and no procedure of any of the defendants provide for the use of water in responding to an oil well blowout fire or a petroleum fire under pressure."
The class claims the defendants should have known "that the source of the fire on the Deepwater Horizon was the petroleum under pressure; knew, or should have known, that the use of water and fire cannons was ineffective and produced no benefit but created the risk of causing the vessel to sink."
Had the rig not been caused to sink, there is a much greater likelihood that the drilling pipe attached to its bottom might have been properly disconnected and capped near the surface, according to the complaint.
The class is represented by Lloyd Frischhertz of New Orleans.