Exxon Valdez
Cause Analysis |
The oil spill caused by the grounding of the EXXON VALDEZ. The punitive damages currently stand at $2.5 billion, reduced by appeals from the original punitive damages of $5 billion. People across the country are eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court's decision, which is expected in the summer, for many reasons. While this case has several interesting legal ramifications, the one I'd like to focus on is Exxon Mobil Corp.'s liability, and how a root cause analysis can help us foresee the different areas where liability might be at issue. When examining the causes of the EXXON VALDEZ spill, a very basic root cause analysis follows
What a lot of people imagine when they hear about the EXXON VALDEZ, and what the cause map above implies, is a drunken Captain haphazardly steering a gigantic oil tanker into a reef. As is usually the case, the real issue is far more complicated. Many people don't realize that the Captain was not even present on the bridge when the ship struck the reef. So his drinking did not directly cause the accident. Yet the fact that he was drunk, which was against company regulations, is one of the main reasons that Exxon Mobil Corp. is being found liable for punitive damages. The argument is that they knew the Captain had an alcohol problem and still allowed him to pilot the ship. We'd have to expand upon the cause map above significantly before there was any mention of Exxon Mobil Corp. and their contribution (direct and indirect) to the spill. A visual root cause analysis expanding upon the last two boxes is shown below. This is why a visual form of the root cause analysis is so helpful. Indirect causes are the easiest ones to miss, and they are frequently the biggest liability issues. A detailed cause map allows us to see the indirect causes that can lead to liability issues - such Exxon Mobil Corp.'s inaction towards the Captain's violation of company rules, which is part of the basis of Exxon Mobil Corp.'s liability in the ongoing litigation. It's only when we get down to the nitty-gritty of the root cause analysis that we can see the contributions from all the major players. It will be interesting to see what kind of a price tag the Supreme Court will place on those contributions.
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February 4-5, 2009
Houston, TX
March 11-12, 2009
Las Vegas, NV
April 1-2, 2009
Atlanta, GA
April 28-29, 2009
Tulsa, OK
May 13-14, 2009
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June 24-25, 2009
Houston, TX
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