Lawsuit blames BP's Gulf pollution for divers' injuries, suicides

Southern Studies - 

A commercial diver who worked in the Gulf of Mexico following the BP disaster has filed a lawsuit blaming his serious health problems -- and his colleagues' suicides -- on the oil and chemical dispersants used to break up the slick.

David Hogan of Texas was once a "very gregarious, healthy man" who climbed 14,400-foot Mount Rainier in Washington -- but after five months of working long hours as a commercial diver in Gulf waters fouled by oil and chemical dispersants, he began suffering seizures, lost 60 pounds, can't walk, and is going blind, according to the complaint filed last week in district court in Houston:

"By August, 2011, medical testing and medical evaluation by one or more physicians familiar with exposure to the oil spill and, particularly, exposure to the Corexit® dispersants, led physicians to inform Mr. Hogan that his progressing medical problems were caused by the contact with the oil spill during his diving operations between June and November, 2010.

"Through additional testing and medical evaluation, by November 16, 2011, Mr. Hogan had been diagnosed as suffering from neurotoxicity related to chronic and cumulative exposure to chemical and heavy metals associated with the Gulf oil spill and dispersant".

Hogan worked for Specialty Offshore, which contracted with oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico to perform jobs including repairing and maintaining oil and gas lines.

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