The Crime Book

113

Survivors’ organizations and other

local activists regularly stage protests

demanding harsher punishment for

those responsible for the tragedy, and

more compensation for its victims.

of the children born after the

disaster in the area around

the plant suffered mental and

physical deformities.

Human rights groups claim

that birth defects have actually

occurred in the area since the plant

opened in 1969 due to groundwater

contamination arising from the

hazardous waste dumped in and

around the plant. However, the

government has not confirmed a

link, and no long-term research has

been carried out that proves the

birth defects are directly related to

the drinking of poisoned water.

Government apathy

Although UCC’s 27-hectare

(67-acre) factory was closed down

immediately after the disaster, the

company was not permitted to

decontaminate the site until the

early 1990s. While litigation was in

progress, the methyl isocyanate

unit was considered “evidence” in

the criminal case. In 2001, UCC

WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

Corporate negligence

Generally, corporate negligence

occurs when a company breaches

its promise to a third party to do

no harm. Whether it is done

accidentally or intentionally to

save money, a company can be

held accountable for a negligent

action, or a failure to act. A parent

corporation may be found liable

for the negligence of a subsidiary

company, even if it played no part

in the wrongdoing. Landmark

cases include 79-year-old Stella

Liebeck, who in 1994 successfully

sued McDonald’s for $2.86 million

(£2.5 million today) after spilling

a cup of their scalding coffee in

her lap and suffering serious

burns. Today, most commercial

hot drinks carry warning signs.

In 2014, a US jury awarded

Cynthia Robinson $23.6 billion

(£19 billion) in punitive damages

in her law-suit against cigarette-

maker R.J. Reynolds for the

wrongful death of her husband,

a smoker who died of lung

cancer in 1996. She argued that

the company was negligent in

not informing consumers that

its products are addictive and

harmful to health.

The jury in the Robinson vs

Reynolds case found that the tobacco

giant had marketed its cigarettes as

safe, knowing full well they were not.

was taken over by Dow Chemical

Company, which has steadfastly

refused to accept liability for the

Bhopal accident. Dow says the legal

case was settled in 1989, and that

responsibility for the cleanup

operation, as well as for ongoing

medical care for victims and fresh

claims for compensation, now rests

with the authorities in Madhya

Pradesh state, who assumed control

of the site in 1998. Little has been

done in recent years by India’s

government to resolve this

impasse. And while local activists

have no doubt that the toxic

waste at the abandoned plant

poses serious health risks for

people living nearby, they have

opposed government plans to

remove and incinerate it, on safety

grounds. However, in 2015, a small

amount of waste from the site was

burned in a trial incineration and

the emissions were deemed to be

within permissible limits. ■

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