A jury in Louisiana, USA, has awarded more than $27m to the family of an offshore worker who was fatally injured in a 2018 accident on an oil and gas production platform operated by Talos ERT, LLC in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lawyers for the family of the dead worker, named Walter Jackson, argued that the company had authorized unsafe work for the contractors.
Talos asserted that Jackson and his coworkers used their own rope to move heavy pipe, in the face of objections from the contractor and requests for more suitable equipment. The rope failed, causing a section of the pipe to fall, striking Jackson and killing him.
Jackson’s family was represented by attorney Kyle Findley of law firm Arnold & Itkin. Findley said that “Talos was clearly at fault in planning and authorizing every aspect of the job, and they want to blame Walter’s coworkers for performing the job Talos wanted done. When companies cut corners with safety and workers get hurt, juries are willing to hold them accountable for the pain and loss families suffer.”