Deepwater Horizon families could sue

WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- Families of 11 workers killed in last year's Gulf of Mexico oil disaster can seek damages from BP and others involved in the accident, a U.S. Senate bill says.

An explosion rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico last year, killing 11 workers and leading to one of the worst disasters in the history of the oil industry.

The Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill that would let family members of the victims try to recover damages from BP, Transocean, the rig's operator, and other subcontractors, the McClatchy news service reports.

The Senate measure, the Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness Act, seeks to amend the Jones Act and the 90-year-old Death on the High Seas Act to pursue damages related to loss of companionship and pain and suffering.

Transocean in May 2010 filed a measure that would limit its liability to less than $27 million. The Senate measure would allow families to take legal action without final judgment on Transocean's efforts. It would also amend the Shipowners' Liability Act of 1851, which limits liability to the value of a vessel and its freight.

House legislators passed a similar bill last year that never moved to the full Senate. The Senate measure is limited to the actual Deepwater Horizon explosion, not the oil spill.