*shrugs* If you don't know, don't speak. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 11/06/2010 03:58:40 PM
If you must speak, do so with the understanding uninformed opinions on emotional subjects often provoke annoyance. I would like it noted in passing, however, that there's a difference between saying a POST is stupid and saying a POSTER is. 
Of course in this case it is in a hire car and it was being controlled by more than one person... and had just had some work done on it by another party. So really you need to know what exactly went wrong so you can know who it is at fault (the driver isn't liable if a garage does some work on his brakes and they then fail - tha garage is the party who screwed up)
Was it really being "controlled" by more than one person? I sincerely doubt BP simply gave Transocean a free hand in much of anything. They paid a pretty penny for that lease, after all, and the sheer volume of the spill shows how rich it was. Not to mention that whatever services they may be purchasing from Transocean they almost certainly expect to be performed according to instructions. "Here's a large sum of money; do what you please on our oil lease--while our employees watch mutely.... "
' />2' /> As to the equipment itself, the main thing we know is that had never had this problem before now, and that it had already been cited several times by the Coast Guard for leaks in the weeks leading up to the explosion (one theory as to why the blowout preventer failed is that it lacked hydraulic pressure due to a leak of its own. )
This is really the point... what went wrong and who is responsible for it. You want to be careful saying that around here though - Foxhead did and got attacked for saying something he never said.
Actually, what went wrong, in terms of assigning damages, is only relevant in so far as it bears on who's responsible. And BP has been rather half hearted in its own attempts to shift blame to contractors and regulators, which speaks volumes, though I do give them credit for at least trying. This is BPs baby and they'll have to rock it, like it or not.
If you're weaving down the road at thrice the limit with a fifth in one hand and run someone over, you're going to jail and likely to be sued by the victim or their family. If you're doing well under the speed limit in a licensed and insured vehicle and obeying all the traffic laws you're far less likely to run someone over--but while you might not go to jail if it happens anyway, you're still gonna get sued by the victim or their family. In fact, in both cases you're likely to get sued by their health insurer, too, who'll probably take the view that if YOU broke their leg YOU (not the insurer) should pay to treat them. You may not have done anything WRONG, but you are LIABLE.
Of course in this case it is in a hire car and it was being controlled by more than one person... and had just had some work done on it by another party. So really you need to know what exactly went wrong so you can know who it is at fault (the driver isn't liable if a garage does some work on his brakes and they then fail - tha garage is the party who screwed up)
Was it really being "controlled" by more than one person? I sincerely doubt BP simply gave Transocean a free hand in much of anything. They paid a pretty penny for that lease, after all, and the sheer volume of the spill shows how rich it was. Not to mention that whatever services they may be purchasing from Transocean they almost certainly expect to be performed according to instructions. "Here's a large sum of money; do what you please on our oil lease--while our employees watch mutely.... "
' />2' /> As to the equipment itself, the main thing we know is that had never had this problem before now, and that it had already been cited several times by the Coast Guard for leaks in the weeks leading up to the explosion (one theory as to why the blowout preventer failed is that it lacked hydraulic pressure due to a leak of its own. )I'm in no position to say whether or not BP is simply liable or actually criminal in this case (though I strongly suspect at least criminal negligence. ) That's why we have courts. But it was their equipment operated by their personnel under their managers supervision on land they leased. Who else should be responsible for as yet unknown damages...?
This is really the point... what went wrong and who is responsible for it. You want to be careful saying that around here though - Foxhead did and got attacked for saying something he never said.
Actually, what went wrong, in terms of assigning damages, is only relevant in so far as it bears on who's responsible. And BP has been rather half hearted in its own attempts to shift blame to contractors and regulators, which speaks volumes, though I do give them credit for at least trying. This is BPs baby and they'll have to rock it, like it or not.