Iraq father begins legal action against BP over son’s cancer death

AFP | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to leukaemia, which he alleges was caused by gas flaring at Iraq’s largest oil field.

The bereaved father, who lives near the Rumaila field in the southern province of Basra, is demanding that the firm compensate him for his son Ali’s medical expenses, which have left him in crushing debt.

He wants BP to cover the costs of his 21-year-old’s medical treatment -- including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant -- and his funeral following his death in April last year.

On April 22, he sent a Letter Before Action to BP detailing his claim -- the first step before a legal action is launched.

If an agreement is not reached, the next stage would be court proceedings, according to Hausfeld & Co, the law firm representing Julood. He said no amount of money would make up for his son’s death. 

But “what I am claiming is my right”, added the 55-year-old father of seven, from his modest home. “I am not doing it only for Ali but also for the poor, sick and deceased in this area.”

Julood hopes that if he wins compensation from BP, oil companies will be more careful about flaring.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq’s oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

In the Rumaila field, it works in partnership with the state-owned Basra Oil Company.