Lawyers: Workers were asked to sign denials

May 12, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

Workers aboard an exploding offshore drilling platform were told to sign statements denying they were hurt or witnessed the blast that rocked the rig, killed 11 and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the ocean, their attorneys said Tuesday.

Survivors floated for hours in lifeboats in the Gulf of Mexico after the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon and were greeted by company officials onshore asking them to sign statements that they had no “firsthand or personal knowledge” of the incident, attorneys said.

“These men are told they have to sign these statements or they can’t go home,” said Tony Buzbee, a Houston-based attorney for 10 Transocean workers. “I think it’s pretty callous, but I’m not surprised by it.”

Guy Cantwell, a spokesman for rig owner Transocean Ltd., refused to answer whether Transocean or any company attached to the firm had supplied the statement, claiming it was inappropriate to comment on litigation.

“Our focus has been on the crew members and their families, working with all parties in the response efforts and conducting a Transocean investigation into the incident,” he said Monday.

The men were kept for at least 10 hours at sea, then taken to a hotel on shore in Louisiana to sign the forms and be debriefed, according to Buzbee and court documents filed in lawsuits already brought by some Transocean employees. Though such statements have no legal force and are a common industry practice, they often are used to attack the credibility of workers who later sue or testify in a lawsuit, Buzbee said.