Judge Paves Way for Personal Injury Lawsuits Arising out of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Posted Wednesday, April 29, 2015 by Chris Thayer

Judge Paves Way For Deepwater Personal Injury Jury Trials

A Louisiana federal judge concluded Monday that a plaintiff in ongoing medical benefits class action over the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster is entitled to a jury, setting the stage for BP to potentially face thousands of jury trials involving personal injury claims by residents of the Louisiana and perhaps other states in the Gulf Coast.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier found that a 2012 medical benefits settlement provided to some injured parties did not preclude claimants filing so-called back-end litigation option — which enables class members with physical conditions that manifested after April 2012 to file their own separate suit in certain cases.