Whether they’re levied as fines, or by a jury as punitive damages, it’s going to be dollar amounts like these that make companies start taking safety as seriously as they should:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the largest fine in its history on Friday, $87 million in penalties against the oil giant BP for failing to correct safety problems identified after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City, Tex. refinery.
The suspected cause of the explosion that killed 15 workers at BP's Texas City, Tex., plant in 2005 was the escape of flammable hydrocarbons that were ignited by the backfire of a truck.
The fine is more than four times the size of any previous OSHA sanction.
Source: Record OSHA Fine Against BP Over Texas Refinery Explosion - NYTimes.com