Upon reaching shore, workers rescued from last month’s oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico were asked to sign a form stating they hadn’t been injured and didn’t witness the accident. A lawyer for 10 of the workers says the practice is common and can be later used by the company to avoid liability.
“It not only protects them against that individual worker, but it might protect them against that worker being a witness for someone else,” Tony Buzbee, the lawyer, told Talking Points Memo.
It’s used in several ways: number one, if the worker later is called as a witness to say, ‘Yes, I saw Joe Blow fall down the stairs.’ Then this statement is thrown in his face,” says Buzbee. “Later if the guy’s neck begins to hurt and he seeks treatment, they stick the statement in his face and say, ‘Well you told us on the day of the incident you weren’t hurt.’”
In response to stories about the form in the Associated Press and National Public Radio, Transocean, which owned the drilling rig, issued a statement Tuesday saying workers “were free to complete the form at their leisure, or not at all.”
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[...] Transocean Asked Workers to Sign Injury and Witness Waivers [...]