Louisiana Federal Court Allows Most Claims Alleging Exposure To Radioactive Oilfield Waste Materials To Continue

Following alleged occupational exposure to radioactive oilfield waste materials, a group of plaintiffs (including workers and their surviving spouses and children) sued a number of oil companies and their contractors alleging negligence, strict liability, intentional tort, and a claim for punitive damages.  The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana allowed most of those claims to proceed after adjudicating a plethora of motions to dismiss.  For example, the defendants argued that the strict liability claims should be dismissed because the alleged radioactive contamination of the used oilfield pipes is merely a temporary condition and not a “defect.”  The court disagreed and allowed the strict liability claims to continue after explaining that the radiation is absorbed into the pipe, which the plaintiffs assert renders the pipe permanently defective and is not just a temporary hazard.

The court did dismiss any claims for punitive damages in a wrongful death action (barred by Louisiana case law) and tort claims outside of the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act against a particular plaintiff’s employer except for those that pleaded intentional torts (i.e., those not precluded by the workers’ compensation regime).