It has been five months since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that caused the largest oil spill in American history. The emergency operation has ceased but cleanup efforts still continue. If another deep-water blowout occurred the oil industry and the government would still be unprepared for the disaster.

Tools used to stop the leak and in the cleanup remain inadequate. A larger and improved cap-and-siphon containment system has not been developed yet. It could take another year for one to be engineered. Available skimmers, used to suck up oil on the ocean’s surface, are still undersized in their capacity. Experts also say the industry needs improved technology for better testing and analysis of safety equipment. Critics of the regulation system still believe the government will have problems prudently regulating an industry it receives revenue from.

Despite the current danger, there are serious efforts underway to improve containment systems and to improve systems that could prevent another disaster. Exxon Mobil is in the process of building a unique oil leak containment system. It would be able to curb a leak in 10,000 feet of water, which is twice the depth of where the BP leak occurred.

BP admitted in its own report that it misread one of the oil well’s key pressure tests before the explosion. BP also attributes the warning failures to Transocean, the company BP leased the rig from. A problem area that remains is the lack of information available to all parties involved in the operation.

Testimony from the federal investigation has showed that real-time information from the rig was available to BP onshore but not to Transocean. In fact, two central individuals from each company responsible for the well’s safety seldom communicated with each other. Besides improved technology, experts say improved coordination and safety culture within the industry is required.

It should go without saying that freak accidents like this one are, thankfully, quite rare. That being said, hopefully this will serve as a reminder to everyone that we all need to be as careful as we can while driving. Unanticipated hazards pop up all the time, from mysterious conditions like this to much more common ones, like a squirrel running in front of your or striking a jarring pothole.

Dominguez Law can help you with your case whether it’s a freak accident or a normal occurrence.