Royal Dutch Shell is trying to defend its offshore safety record, after attacks by environmental safety groups over a leak from a Shell platform in the North Sea. Shell has confirmed that it has managed to plug the leak from its Gannet Alpha platform which...
Learn More >>Shuman Consulting and the Transocean Explosion
Shuman Consulting has been hired to work with Transocean in connection with the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig explosion. Shuman was hired as a Third Party Administrator and/or Risk Manager to work on Loss Adjustment. In plain English this mean that Shuman Consulting is a hired gun for a large corporation and/or its insurance company, and Shuman's entire purpose in this situation is to assess the corporation's loss exposure and limit it. Their goal will be to limit the amount of money that is paid out to those who have been harmed by the companies involved in the Transocean explosion.
Shuman has sent a PERSONAL EFFECTS RECEIPT, RELEASE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT form to every crew member who worked on the Deepwater Horizon. This RELEASE asks the crewmember to sign in front of a notary public that they fully release their claims to their personal belongings and effects for $5,000 paid by and on behalf of Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc.
Shuman Consulting and companies like it protect maritime employers, often at the offshore workers' expense. If you are a Transocean employee or a contractor from Smith or BP, do not be fooled by the recent paperwork you may have received from Shuman, telling you what you need to do or what you need to sign to get your personal effects. Do NOT sign anything or accept any funds from any source until you speak with an experienced maritime lawyer. We are happy to speak with you about the paperwork you received for free without any obligation on your part, any time, day or night and explain to you what is really going on. We care about this country's offshore workers and we want to help you make the best decision possible for you and your family.
Shuman Consulting and marine adjusters will tell an injured offshore worker or the family of a deceased Jones Act Seaman that they are an "independent" party, implying that their involvement is purely neutral or unbiased. This is not true. Someone is paying their tab and that someone is a large corporation and/or that corporations's insurance company and these groups are trying to mitigate their damages, or pay injured workers and their families less money. Since the insurance company and/or the maritime employer are the entities paying Shuman, whose interests do you think they represent? NOT the interests of an injured worker. NOT the interests of a grieving family who lost a loved one in the Transocean explosion. Just like when your employer was more concerned about obtaining your statement than letting you see your family, in this situation too, you need to have your eyes wide open to who they really care about.
Shuman Consulting and its employees and representatives are not friends of the injured worker. Do not give a recorded statement to them. Do not sign any paperwork from them. Do not accept money from them. Do not let Shuman tell you that you are not really hurt, that you just are feeling sad and stressed and do not need medical care. You very well could have PTSD and require immediate attention from a mental health professional. Do not do anything without understanding what your legal rights are.
Shuman Consulting has a web site: www.scslp.com. The company has offices in Houston, New Orleans, Lafayette, Houma, Mobile, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville. Their offices are very close to the scene of this devastating offshore oil rig explosion and many of the crewmembers who work for Smith, Transocean and BP.
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