BP Fined, Charged with Manslaughter: The Justice Department has charged the London-based oil company BP with felony manslaughter for the deaths of the 11 people who fell victim to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010. The rig, which was located 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, sank after an explosion and spewed more than 206 millions gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. Federal grand juries indicted the two highest-ranking supervisors of the company and indicted the its incident commander for lying to and hiding information from Congress. In a settlement, BP has agreed to pay $4 billion over a five-year period.
The criminal settlement does not cover any of the claims for damages to water, natural resources or private claims from residents along the coast that were affected by oil. It's possible that BP will have to pay out additional monies to settle claims it said it's “prepared to vigorously defend itself against." via Washington Post
