BP Spill May Have Long Term Implications for North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Claims
The ongoing oil well gusher in the Gulf of Mexico may have a profound impact on North Carolina workers’ compensation claims, even though at present the residue remains hundreds of miles away from North Carolina shores.
With President Obama, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen and thousands of other federal, state, and local officials and engineers “on the case” to get the deep sea oil well capped and to resolve the environmental and human health fallout, one might think that North Carolina would be spared significant damage. But a recent ABC News analysis of how the potential spill may evolve over the coming months suggests that tarballs and other oil spill related environmental problems may come to haunt North Carolina shores, cause injuries to fisherman and workers here and lead to a host of North Carolina workers’ compensation claims.
All sorts of indirect problems may be in the offing. Consider that, in May, the Obama administration ordered BP to stop using a chemical called Corexit (a dispersant) because of its potentially toxic effects on ocean life and on engineers who disperse it. The spill may also have tertiary and quaternary impacts on the North Carolina workers’ compensation system. If, as many analysts fear, the spill drives the US into a double dip recession or at least slows down growth, business owners and insurers in NC will come under intense pressure to downsize and cut corners. As any half aware watcher of the North Carolina workers’ compensation scene knows, when business owners cut corners, people get hurt at work. It would be very difficult to trace any resultant injuries back to the BP spill (after all, it’s tough enough to isolate secondary consequences of a disaster like this – much less tertiary and quaternary consequences), but an historical analysis might indeed suggest that the thesis proposed here has merit.
Of course, though the press, environmental activists, and Federal civil engineers may be apoplectic about the spill, you as an injured state worker don’t care as much about the national implications. You just want to know how to get your benefits, deal with frustrating insurance companies and negotiate with uncooperative employers.
To that end, don’t replicate the kinds of mistakes that BP has made over the past few months. Get help sooner to understand your personal financial situation better, and talk to a creditable and experienced North Carolina workers’ compensation attorney to explore how to get fair benefits quickly and cut through red tape.
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