An American personal injury legal firm is warning claimants not to settle claims too quickly with BP and inadvertently sign away rights to compensation for future damages.
BP has already compensated victims of the Gulf oil spill crisis nearly $400 million dollars, with $20 billion put aside for future claims.
US firm Beasley Allen says claimants should take a hard line against BP’s settlement protocol and is also saying the compensation fund organised by BP may need to be larger to handle the growing number of compensation claims being lined up.
The Beasley Allen Law Firm, headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, warns those injured by the BP oil spill to approach claims settlements with caution.
New information has been released that reveal how BP will distribute funds to compensate people who were damaged as a result of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Beasley now believes the $20 billion fund is grossly inadequate.
“There are still questions that need to be answered about any future and final claim protocols,” says Jere Beasley, founding shareholder of the company.
“It’s essential that those injured and damaged by the oil spill, both economically and physically, have access to funds needed immediately for emergency relief, while retaining the right to pursue future damage claims against the oil companies through the courts.”
BP has promised to fully compensate the thousands of claimants who have suffered losses and has set up an unprecedented pot of money to handle claims.
However, Beasley Allen says there are protocols for the compensation fund which will require people and businesses to waive their rights to sue BP and other companies involved in the disaster.
This could be detrimental for claimants who cannot determine at this time the full impact of the oil spill.
“To say that people who are hurting now and need help now can’t get that help without giving away their future rights, is not true justice and is just plain wrong.
“Our goal is to help bring BP and other entities responsible to justice,” Beasley says.
Beasley Allen is a major name in civil litigation in the US. The company has been involved in a number of landmark injury compensation cases.
BP compensation cases they are handling include commercial fishing businesses, retail firms, restaurants, real estate companies, property owners, and those suffering personal injuries from the disaster.
In the most recent statistics from BP’s claims team, it has revealed that it has already paid $368 million to individuals and businesses.
BP made more than $102 million in claims payments during the first 16 days of August. Payments to claimants in past months were $134 million in July, $93 million in June, and $39 million in May, making their compensation settlement package one of the largest claim payment programmes conducted in a three and a half month period.
BP is in the final stages of preparing to transfer responsibility for individual and business claims related to the oil spill to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), an independent fund.
The transfer of the management of compensation claims was expected to be completed on August 23 2010.
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