WTH? "Survivors Held Until They Signed"

From today's Guardian, we learn that the survivors of the BP/Transocean oil rig explosion were kept from their families for 40 hours to force them to sign statements the companies could use in court.

From the story:

Davis made it to lifeboat No 1. It was an 18 metre drop to the water and the lifeboat was overloaded, but the vessel did not capsize and its pilot guided it safely to the rig's supply vessel, the Damon Bankston. He watched the Deepwater Horizon burn from there.

"We actually watched the derrick [a lifting device] melt from the starboard side of the rig as they airlifted the guys out. It was horrid, it was overwhelming, it was unbelievable."

By Davis's estimate, it took 12-15 minutes to get from the rig to the work boat, but it would take another 36-40 hours before they were to return to shore – even though there were dozens of boats in the area and Coast Guard helicopters airlifting the most severely injured to hospital.

Some of the men were openly furious, while others, like Davis, were just numb. He says they were denied access to the onboard satellite phone or radio to call their families.

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Lawyers say the isolation was deliberate and that Transocean was trying to wear the men down so they would sign statements denying that they had been hurt or that they had witnessed the explosion that destroyed the rig.

"These men are told they have to sign these statements or they can't go home," said Buzbee. "I think it's pretty callous, but I'm not surprised by it."

Davis had been awake nonstop for about 50 hours by that point. He signed. Buzbee says most of the men did.

Got to hand it to those BP/Transocean lawyers -- they think of everything. Using sleep deprivation and forced isolation against your own employees to protect your corporate ass? Most companies just wouldn't have the guts, but BP doesn't hesitate. Wonder what they did to the injured workers in the hospitals?

Oh, and check this out: the strategy must have already been in the company's procedures manual, because it went into effect as soon as the explosion happened. Fifteen minutes to the rescue boat -- and by the time they got there the isolation policy was in place.

Gives new meaning to the term "risk management." Now if only they had applied the same attention to detail to their work on the ocean floor. Naw, that's just safety and human lives; we'll manage the risk after the fact, by having everyone sign statements.

BP: efficiently heartless.