Maritime Law and the Deep Water Horizon: How Should the Widows be Compensated?

It’s been more than a year since the explosion aboard the Deep Water Horizon oil rig that led to the deaths of 11 workers and millions of barrels of oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the widows of those killed on the Horizon are pushing for a new law that would allow them to sue for pain and suffering.  
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill on Wednesday. It would change long-standing Maritime laws that limit the liability in the case of death on the high seas. Neil Quartaro, attorney at Watson, Farley and Williams, and an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs does not think the law should be changed.