There Will be No Lawsuits in Chile

October 14th, 2010. By Hunter West

We’ve all been enthralled, inspired, mystified while watching the successful rescue of the 33 Chilean miners unfolding on our television screens this week. It’s a compelling story that is ready-made for Hollywood—and you want to bet it will be a movie and a series of books, the options for which have already been hammered out. It would make for a worthy introductory movie for Oprah’s OWN network when she launches next year. 

The point is, an event that could have ended so tragically—didn’t. The grace of God has to certainly be a factor. So is luck. The president of Chile called it a miracle, and of course he is right. But the Chilean government and the mining authority did so many things right that by the grace of God and Lady Luck, they pretty much guaranteed a good outcome. 

Miracles can, and do get helped along by good planning. 

Compare what we have just witnessed on TV screens around the world to some disasters on our own shores—or just off them—that didn’t need to happen but did because someone, somewhere cut corners. 

Look at the BP oil spill. Of course, there is inherent risk with any drilling attempt. But oil drilling R&D over the years has come up with a series of checks, balances and safeguards that serves to minimize that risk. In the BP case it is alleged and widely believed that a number of those safeguards were skipped in the interest of haste and cost. A final inspection that would have identified deficiencies leading to a catastrophic failure, was called off. The inspection team was on the Deepwater Horizon, ready to go, when they were sent home. They left the rig in the morning. Later that same day an explosion of catastrophic proportions killed a number of oil rig workers, injured several others and set into motion the largest oil spill in US history. 

Compare that with the Chilean mining disaster. The mine was outfitted with supplies of food and water—the means to survive in the event of a collapse. Thus the 33 were able to survive those first dozen days until word reached to the outside world that they had, indeed survived, and were located. 

But how to get them out? 

While the Chilean mining authority grappled with that challenge, various levels of expertise went to work to ensure the workers were prepared. The expectation was that they wouldn’t be rescued—if at all—before Christmas. 

So the miners were prepared. They were supplied with material designed to keep their spirits, emotional and otherwise, up. They were supplied with foods to safeguard their health, and to combat weight loss. They were also instructed on how to keep their weight in check, allowing them to fit into the confines of the so-called Phoenix capsule for rescue. If they were too heavy, or bulky—their rescue might be delayed. They had to work out. They were put on a fitness regime. 

Even the media coverage was orchestrated from the top down by the Chilean government. They knew the world’s media would be descending on them, and they were ready. They learned from Katrina and went to the next level. 

It was a remarkable achievement. While the expertise of various countries may have been brought into play, it was all coordinated from the Chilean government. Nothing was left to chance. No corners were cut. Everything was planned to the nth degree, with as much contingency as possible. 

The result? Thirty-three miners who may have otherwise been given up for dead, are alive today—together with their rescuers, who braved the confines of the mine to afford guidance and supervision from deep within their claustrophobic cavern. 

And the world is in awe. 

There will be no lawsuits coming from the Chilean miners or their families. Regardless of the reasons for the original mine disaster, the miners were cared for even in their captivity. They owe their lives to Providence and a Chilean government that spared no expense and expertise. They cut no corners. 

They did it right. 

We could learn from Chile. So can countries like China, whose manufacturers routinely cut corners in the name of greed, and in the end flood the US and other countries with bad toothpaste, tainted heparin, tires that fall apart, defective Chinese drywall and children’s toys that contain lead. 

It’s the cutting of corners, greed, or ambivalence towards the consumer that provides work for litigation lawyers. So long as enterprise is content with risking the health of a few for the benefit of many, there will continue to be defective products that serve to harm and devastate. 

But the miraculous Chilean mine rescue is not only a stellar example of how to do things right (as opposed to how to NOT do things), it gives litigation lawyers an example of how quiet their professional lives might be if American enterprise conducted their activities in concert with the Chilean spirit of commitment to do whatever it takes to not only avoid accidents, but how to extract a happy ending from a grievous crisis. 

A Hollywood ending. An ending that even a lawyer would cheer. 

Bravo, Chile. It was a miracle. But it was a miracle that would not have happened without hard work and planning. Commitment, and compassion. 

We could learn so much from you. 

Tags: Chile Miners

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