The BP oil spill settlement program has made the transition from helping Gulf Coast residents file claims for damages related to the spill to processing the claims that have been filed. As part of that transition, all remaining claimant help centers in Mississippi and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast have closed. The program is now directing all of its resources towards getting the claims resolved in a timely fashion. That is a good thing, because many new claims were filed recently in anticipation of the filing deadline.
Claimants who wanted to participate in the settlement were supposed to file their claims before midnight on June 8, 2015. Claimant help centers were a valuable resource for those who needed help filing claims, and many claims were filed with the assistance of help center staff. Between the time that claims began to be filed as part of the 2012 settlement and mid-April of this year, approximately three hundred and twenty thousand claims have been filed, and five billion dollars’ worth of compensation has already been paid out. As the June eighth filing deadline approached, thousands more claims were filed, with some claimants waiting until the evening of the very last day to file their paperwork. BP officials estimate that by the time all of the claims have been processed, the company will have paid out over ten billion dollars to resolve the claims associated with the spill.
Overall, the claims that have been submitted allege that a wide variety of damages have been caused to both individuals and businesses by the BP oil spill. For example, recreational fishing boat operators experienced a sharp drop in business after the spill, and while business is beginning to pick back up again, it is still not where it had been before the spill. Many business owners who filed claims are concerned that they may not be able to recover, or that they won’t recover much because they were unable to estimate with a great deal of certainty just how much business each of them had lost. Business owners aren’t the only people who filed claims for economic damages related to the oil spill. Some individuals filed claims that were based on being unable to catch fish to eat, stating that fish and shellfish from local waters had been a major part of their food supply prior to the oil spill.
Barrett Law PLLC: Helping Those Who Have Been Affected by the BP Oil Spill
The Mississippi BP Oil Spill Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC have been following all of the latest developments related to BP oil spill litigation as they happen. We are dedicated to helping our Gulf Coast clients resolve their BP oil spill claims. If you have filed a claim that is related to the BP oil spill, we are here to help you. Call the knowledgeable and experienced BP oil spill attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577, to schedule your free, initial consultation.
