Lawyers representing some of the family members of the men who died in the Paria Diving Incident are urging Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited and LMCS to reach an amicable settlement with the families. Prakash Ramadhar, one of the lawyers who represents some of the family members of the four men who died in the February 2022 incident at Paria, has offered an ultimatum to the companies involved, namely Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited and LMCS Ltd.
The government gave out a one-million-dollar ex-gratia payment to the lone survivor and families of two other victims on January 22nd. Mr. Ramadhar said Paria has the means needed to settle the matter. Another attorney for the families, Saira Lakhan, said going into the court system would mean the families would be waiting several years for a judgement. A group of five LMCS divers were performing maintenance work on a Paria pipeline on February 24th, 2022, when they were sucked out of a hyperbaric chamber into the oil-filled pipe.
During a Commission of Enquiry led by King’s Counsel Jerome Lynch, it was recommended that Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited be charged with corporate manslaughter.