On October 8, 2014, “The Louisiana Record” posted an article that brought to light statistics regarding the “shockingly inefficient“ management of the Deepwater Horizon Economic Oil Spill claims. The information included in the article can only be described as profoundly disturbing and is indicative of tremendous inefficiencies and stall tactics at all levels of the […]
On September 4, 2014, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier held that the massive BP oil spill four years ago was the direct result of gross negligence or willful misconduct by BP. The ruling is significant as it paves the way for the U.S. government to impose nearly four times the amount of civil fines upon […]
http://www.reuters.com/ As reported above, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined BP’s request to keep in place a stay on Business Payments. That stay has kept our clients from receiving their compensation award for months more than necessary, so we are cautiously optimistic that our business economic loss clients will soon start receiving their awards.
The Deadline Has Been Extended In a recent release from the Deepwater Horizon Claims Center (DWHCC), the Claims Administrator has finally announced that April 22, 2014 will not be the deadline to file new claims. Many residents and businesses of the Gulf Coast have feared that they would have to file their claim by the […]
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bp-oil-spill-4-years-later-long-term-health-questions-linger/ As the news story above highlights, tens of thousands of clean up workers have suffered lingering health effects from helping BP clean up its mess. Four years after the event, these poor people have received no compensation for their physical injuries. Many do not have health insurance and have had no medical treatment for […]
On March 24, 2014, a BP oil spill at the company’s Whiting Refinery spread crude oil over more than 5,000 square feet of Lake Michigan. The facility, located near the Chicago city limits, began discharging crude oil late Monday afternoon. The discharge was reportedly stopped at about 9 p.m. local time and has been contained. […]
On Monday, March 3, 2014, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court and concluded that the current injunction should be dissolved. This is the same panel that remanded the case back to Judge Barbier to hold a hearing and establish a “narrowly tailored injunction”. Recall that in October of 2013, the 5th Circuit reversed Judge […]
This week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the last remaining appeals to the BP Medical settlement (http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/bp_moves_forward_with_gulf_spi.html).Unlike the economic settlement, which has been paying claims for over a year, the Medical Settlement could not begin compensating victims until all appeals were resolved. Our firm represents over six hundred sick and injured clean up […]
Between April and September of 2013, over 5,000 businesses were paid over $1.3 billion in settlement claims. However, since the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled, the Claims Administrator, Patrick Juneau, has paid only four business loss claims in the two months. In addition to a claim process stand-still, the Court issued a […]