Major Incident Litigation Management
Oil & Gas
An informative seminar presented by APTECH Engineering Services, Inc. & Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, LLP
Overview
This seminar provides an opportunity to gain the knowledge to respond effectively to evolving events associated with the aftermath of a major incident, including public relations and media response, cooperation with government agencies, and technical control of the incident scene that will allow a foundation for effective litigation defense as required.
Participants will study procedures designed to manage post-incident proceedings in a manner that maximizes effective investigation and defense of anticipated claims.
Who Should Attend
- In-house Counsel
- Insurance Underwriters
- Public Relations Representatives
- Facility Integrity Managers
- Incident Commander Personnel
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- Corporate Risk Management
- Corporate Operations Management
- Corporate Directors
- Chief Financial Officers
- Chief Executive Officers
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Benefits to Participants
Participants will gain a greater understanding of critical mitigation measures relating to:
- Incident Command System
- Preparing for a major incident/Incident Planning & Preparation Benefits
- Regulatory agencies
- Public relations/Public Safety & Protection
- Make up and deployment of the legal defence and technical support team
- Document control and management (secure electronic database applications)
- Judgment precedents
- Incident site management (evidence preservation, photo documentation, site interviews, Evidence chain of custody and security)
- Personnel risk management
Incident Litigation Management
Day 1
U.S. Aging Infrastructure — Oil & Gas Industry Litigation Environment Overview
- Infrastructure subject to results of maintenance cost deferrals
- Incident historical review
- Incident command system history
- Industry regulatory requirements/ applied penalties
- Incident historical review, jury awards, civil penalties, and personnel confinement risk
- Public perception study. Public awareness requirements
- Increasing property encroachment issues
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Facility Incident and Accident Litigation Protocol
- Immediate appointment of an Incident Litigation Team
- Incident Litigation Team responsibilities
- Mobilization of technical support (training and objectives)
- Reporting issues. Issues of discoverability
- Longer term engineering/legal requirements
- Treatment of expert witnesses, regulatory consultants, litigation consultants. Requirements for expert testimony
- Document controls
- Personnel issues
- Potential legal exposure? Corporate? Personal?
- Responsibilities of in-house counsel?
- Risk of incarceration
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Causation Analysis
- Critical event development/Fishbone Analysis
- Technical defense development/ Determination of potential weaknesses
- Review of post incident actions. Determination of potential weaknesses
- Preservation of evidence
Responsible Parties
- Determination of responsible party
- Analysis of contract agreements. Notice of contract agreement enforcement required. Breach of contract provisions
- Due diligence issues
- Third parties or subcontractors involvement
Damage, Injuries, and Fatalities
- Determining extent of property damage
- Determining extent of injuries and number of fatalities/Computer incident reconstruction
- Immediate compensation issues/ Insurance factors
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Day 2 - Day 2.5
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Regulatory Matters
- Compliance with state and federal regulation issues
- Determination of exposure relative to potential fines and penalties. Community repercussions of same
- Regulatory communications
- Pattern of behavior relative to regulatory compliance
Industry Standard of the Day
- Determination of industry standards. Does design and operation of the facility meet normal industry standards of the day?
- Determination of manufacturing and material quality control factors
- Determination of standards pertinent for facility at issue
Public Perception
- How to determine what information should be provided to public?
- How should the public be kept informed? Advantages of a web based approach
- How to manage and document community meetings
- How to facilitate and implement an effective media relations campaign
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