The $20 billion BP oil leak fund was established after the Macondo well blowout. A mere pittance of those mega billions has been distributed to Gulf coast residents who say their livelihoods have been overturned by the environmental and economic carnage. Shady lawyers are buggering up a process that has come to be criticized by those seeking a jackpot as a cluster rack.
Figuring out how to deal with the BP oil leak claims
About 19 percent of the $20 billion BP set aside for the oil leak claims was paid in the BP oil spill claims with $3.8 billion paid in total by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility a year after the Gulf of Mexico accident last year. The BP oil leak fund has been dispersed by Kenneth Feinberg who was appointed by the Obama administration. Now, 201,261 claims have been paid, he states. There have been several more claims made though. Over 857,000 were made total. In five states there are 35 offices for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. The BP oil spill claims will be paid by it until 2013, in August. Many people like to criticize Feinberg for his position though. They say the claims process is confusing, slow and unfair to many people.
Damage proof
One applicant tried to request $20 billion causing Feinberg to say “Amounts requested by claimants very often bear no reasonable relationship to the damages really proven.” This was released on Tues in defense of his management of the BP oil leak fund. About 72 percent of the claims from the BP oil spill have had payments or offers made. Claims were denied also. Not all might be accepted. There are pending claims as well. Generally they just need some documentation. Fishermen not used to paperwork in deals and generally working in cash are having difficulty figuring out the BP oil claims process. The payments were disputed by 574 people. None of these have been overturned by the Coast Guard though.
Lawyers attracted by the smell of cash
Residents in the Gulf Coast haven’t even realized when some lawyers sign them up for claims or get misled into thinking they can get money, especially the populations with cultural and language barriers. All of the illegal activity is bothering Feinberg who said it was “an obstacle to the efficiency and speed in getting the checks out.” The New York Times reports that several law firms have targeted Vietnamese fishermen to con them onto their client lists. When BP settles, attorneys end up with more money for how several clients are on the list. According to the New York Times, there was a San Antonio law firm that abused this. It has thousands of Vietnamese listed in its claim. The claims were rejected, and several people were surprised to discover their names on the list.
Citations
CNN Money
money.cnn.com/2011/04/18/news/companies/BP _spill_claims/?npt=NP1
24/7 Wall Street
247wallst.com/2011/04/19/the-BP -20-billion-gulf-claims-facility-has-paid-nearly-nothing/
Los Angeles Times
latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gulf-spill-claims-20110419,0,2595018.story
New York Times
nytimes.com/2011/04/19/us/19spill.html?_r=1
