Titanic Sub Latest: Lawsuit Silenced Whistleblower And May Have Led to Tragedy
The CEO silenced people with safety concerns with a legal tactic.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, and four other people – British businessman Hamish Harding; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son, Suleman; French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet – tragically died when the OceanGate Titan imploded during descent to the ruins of Titanic. In the weeks since the shocking turn of events, more has been revealed about acknowledged safety issues surrounding the ill-fated sub. This week, a former company whistleblower is speaking up about how his concerns were silenced by the company after they sued him.
A new report from the Daily Beast claims that multiple concerns were raised to Rush that he was "flirting with deadly disaster." However, instead of listening, he "bullied" critics into silence using a strategy known as the SLAPP: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
SLAPP is a meritless lawsuit "filed (or merely threatened) not to vindicate any rights, but instead to silence its target by imposing (or threatening to impose) the substantial cost and burden of litigating," the publication explains. "The goal is not to win the case; the process is the punishment."
One judge summarized it as "Persons who have been outspoken on issues of public importance targeted in such suits or who have witnessed such suits will often choose in the future to stay silent. Short of a gun to the head, a greater threat to First Amendment expression can scarcely be imagined."
Since the accident, Karl Stanley, a friend of Rush and a submersible expert, reveals that he heard a cracking sound during a dive on the Titan. He claims he told Rush to conduct more testing on the hull. "Keep your opinions to yourself," Rush responded. "I hope you of all people will think twice before expressing opinions on subjects in which you are not fully versed."
Rob McCallum, expedition leader, and former adviser to OceanGate, also raised concerns to the late CEO, and he shot him down. "We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often. I take this as a serious personal insult," Rush replied to him. On a phone call, "Rush threatened him with litigation if he criticized OceanGate to others," says the Daily Beast. McCallum reportedly told Rush that he would not be intimidated into silence by the threat.
An OceanGate employee, David Lochridge, once OceanGate's director of marine operations and chief submersible pilot, also expressed concern about the dangerous trajectory of the company. The company ignored his concerns, so Lochridge wrote a detailed inspection report of the vessel's defects. He was then terminated.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informed OceanGate that it was investigating Lochridge's termination as a whistleblower protection matter. This is when Rush responded with a SLAPP. OceanGate had attorney Thomas Gilman threaten that if Lochridge did not withdraw his OSHA complaint and pay the company's legal expenses, OceanGate would "sue him, take measures to destroy his professional reputation, and accuse him of immigration fraud." They followed through, and Lochridge eventually settled, withdrawing his OSHA complaint, and was forced into silence.
