The $20 billion BP oil leak fund was established after the Macondo well blowout. A small portion of the money has been paid to people claiming damages from the spill 365 days after the catastrophe began. Shady attorneys are buggering up a process that has come to be criticized by those seeking a jackpot as a cluster rack.
BP oil leak claims process
A year after the 2010 oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility has paid $3.8 billion in BP oil spill claims — just 19 percent of the $20 billion in seed money set aside by the oil company. Kenneth Feinberg said that 201,261 claims were paid as the Obama administration appointed person to distribute the BP oil leak fund. 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 leak claims could be paid by it until 2013, in August. A lot of people like to criticize Feinberg for his position though. They say the claims process is confusing, slow and unfair to most people.
Showing there really were damages
Feinberg made a statement on Tuesday about the BP oil spill fund management saying “Amounts requested by claimants very often bear no reasonable relationship to the damages actually proven,” since $20 billion was requested by one applicant. About 72 percent of the claims from the BP oil leak have had payments or offers made. Claims were denied also. Not all could possibly be accepted. There are pending claims also. Typically they just need some documentation. Fishermen not used to paperwork in deals and generally working in cash are having trouble figuring out the BP oil claims process. The payments were disputed by 574 individuals. None of these have been overturned by the Coast Guard though.
Getting the money is all that matters
Residents in the Gulf Coast have not 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. Feinberg spoke on the fraudulent activity. He said it was “an obstacle to the efficiency and speed in getting the checks out.” The New York Times states that several law firms have targeted Vietnamese fishermen to con them onto their client lists. With all the clients on the list, an attorney can get lots of cash. When BP settles, it pays based on the clients involved. There were thousands of Vietnamese listed on a San Antonio law firm’s list according to the New York Times. The claims were rejected, and several individuals were surprised to discover their names on the list.
Articles cited
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
No comments:
Post a Comment