Washington, D.C. – The following information was released by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary:
Beginning today (June 18), the House Judiciary Committee will be posting BP’s daily reports to the U.S. Coast Guard on its claims process on the Committee’s website.
This will provide the public with the most up-to-date information on the claims process and payments to oil spill victims. Since its May 27th hearing on the Legal Issues Surrounding the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster, the House Judiciary Committee has been investigating BP’s claims process and its effectiveness in covering damages suffered by victims.
As of this Tuesday, June 15th, BP had paid less than 12 percent ($ 71 million dollars out of an estimated $ 600 million) of outstanding claims submitted by individuals and businesses. Two weeks after the disaster, BP had not paid a single dollar to the individuals or businesses harmed by the explosion and the oil spill. As of May 18th (four weeks post-disaster), BP had only paid $ 11,673,616.
In apparent response to congressional oversight and the efforts of the federal government, BP began increasing their payments to affected individuals and businesses in the past few weeks. Although the oil spill disaster occurred on April 20th, BP has only begun to compensate individuals for their full loss of income in the past two weeks. We understand individuals continue to experience delays in the receipt of full income awards.
BP has not paid a single bodily injury claim. As of Friday, June 18th, there were 717 claims submitted for bodily injury, including claims for respiratory issues, headaches, and skin irritation. BP has not paid a single claim for the diminishment in value of homes in the affected areas of the Gulf South, out of a total 175 claims submitted.
Out of the 267 claims submitted, BP has paid only $ 169,371 in loss of income claims for affected restaurants. However, the lack of data from BP on the damage amounts requested by the affected restaurants or the number of claims paid makes it impossible for the Committee to determine if restaurants and other Gulf Coast businesses are being properly compensated.
“I remain concerned that BP is stiffing too many victims and short-changing others,” [Committee Chairman John] Conyers said. “The loss of the eleven men aboard the Deepwater Horizon and the tremendous environmental damage being caused by this oil spill are the most immediate and distressing components of this disaster, but we must also ensure that the men and women who lost their livelihood or suffered serious economic harm are made whole by this claims process. I look forward to seeing a more transparent and efficient process for providing remedies to victims as the newly-established independent claims process begins. It is also important for BP to provide the requested data to Congress and the U.S. Coast Guard, so that federal and state governments can ensure that victims are being appropriately compensated now and as the claims process evolves.”
As of today, BP has released additional information on the claims process (including the cumulative total of payments by date) in response to the efforts of the Committee and the U.S. Coast Guard to improve BP’s daily reports on the claims process.. Unfortunately, despite repeated requests of BP officials, the Committee has not been provided with adequate information on the claims process (including the total number of claims paid by category, and the total amount of damages requested for individuals and business claims) needed for a complete evaluation. You can find the Committee’s correspondence to BP by clicking here.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary.
