According to Mr. Feinberg, the Gulf should recover from BP’s oil spill within three years. The formula used for the final settlements offered to the victims will be based on this assessment. The assessment itself is based on “various data and expert reports” according to the czar of the GCCF. With a thirty percent recovery for 2011 and a full recovery in 2012, with the exception of oyster harvesting -which will likely take longer than that. The aforementioned ‘expert reports’ are primarily based on the assessment from a consulting firm and a Texas professor. So far half of the 485,000 claims filed have been denied for various reasons.  In a recent court filing, Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi said -”While this office had hoped that the methodology would finally provide some transparency, this document provides no useful information to claimants beyond a simplistic multiplier and is based on very optimistic assumptions about unknown environmental and economic conditions.” This ‘optimism’ has been prevalent from the beginning, on the part of the GCCF and BP especially. Hopefully this new assessment of the recovery will hold true, but thus far the predictions have been inaccurate. So according to this optimistic formula, claimants will receive twice their documented 2010 losses, while oyster harvesters will get four times their 2010 losses. “I am comfortable with what I am doing today” said Mr. Feinberg. That’s great to hear, but the tens of thousands of victims are still very uncomfortable with their lives and the claims process.

The tactics used by pharmaceutical companies to boost and expand their bottom line has been under criticism for some time. A new report compiled by ProPublica, an independent nonprofit public interest group, showed that the drug companies are shelling out large amounts of money to doctors under the guise of research. Charles Orenstein, a senior reporter for ProPublica said, “We found the amounts of money were staggering. Nearly $300 million was spent for speaking and consulting by just these (eight) companies in less than two years.” The doctors are paid for speaking and research projects for Big Pharmas like Eli Lilly, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and many others. A new law may provide the transparency needed for the patients to make more informed decisions. The Healthcare Reform Act has a provision that will require all medical device and pharmaceutical companies to disclose what the physicians are paid for these services. While transparency is great start it is only half the battle. If the research conducted by the doctors/Big Pahrma is unbiased and the compensation for these services does not influence their decisions as to which drug they endorse/prescribe (and in what amounts, ie. dosage and frequency) then perhaps it can be justified. But that’s a big if. And the line between pharmaceutical advertising/research and simple old school drug pushing is getting finer. The latter would not only be unethical but dangerous to the unsuspecting public.

The slick oil giant made its first final settlement payment in the amount of $10 million. Citing confidentiality, the company receiving the payment remains undisclosed. BP did acknowledge that it lobbied for the settlement. Approximately 91,000 people and businesses had filed for final settlements and so far only one company has received a final settlement. According to Mr. Feinberg, the facility did not review the merit of that claim and BP struck an outside deal with the unidentified business and directed the fund to make the payment. “It was a private settlement and we paid it, but we are not privy to the settlement negotiations between BP and that party” Fienberg told the Associated Press. Several claimants have expressed their disgust with this recent action, as they continue to wait for their payment, while still continuing to suffer the consequences of the massive oil spill. Tony Kennon the Mayor of Orange Beach, Ala, expressed his concern –“It stinks and reeks of favoritism. It’s exactly what we’ve been screaming about. There’s no independent entity. There’s no oversight.” So instead of making thousands of individual and small business claim payments BP went on to make a single $10 million payment to this “mystery” company.

A BP spokeswoman referred to the payment as “a unique situation in which an existing BP business partner and BP submitted a view on a specific claim”. She went on to say that the facility “reviewed our positions and made an independent decision regarding the outcome of the claim.” The word ‘independent’ has been thrown around by BP, the GCCF, and other parties involved quite a bit. However recent actions by those parties have been anything but independent. While the many victims who are dependent on the ethics and integrity of these entities, are still in limbo.

It’s not a novel concept for individuals and corporations to use Twitter as part of their PR machine. BP has certainly utilized this medium to spew their “facts” aka propaganda. With tweets like “New Orleans hotels ended 2010 on high note and $5M from BP ‘helped a great deal’.” Or “Scientists say Gulf seafood is the safest it’s ever been due to extensive testing.” These are just some of the many tweets that BP has posted. While these are not outright lies, they’re spinning the truth by omitting information and/or publishing fragments from studies that reveal further information to counter the tweets. So if you happen to follow BP on Twitter, be sure to dig deeper and take the tweets with a very big grain of salt. Better yet, do your own homework and talk to the folks on the ground who may have a very different/better informed  take on the Gulf’s conditions.

“When things stop dying.” was Rosina Philippe’s response after being asked -when will fishing and consumption of the catch be safe again. This account, like so many others reminds us of the human element in the mess that BP is responsible for. Listening to Rosina’s voice is both calming and saddening at the same time, indicating the pain that so many are suffering but also their resolve to restore their lives that may have been changed forever. So when you hear and watch this video, make sure to listen too.  

Over nine months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster and nearly six months after the leak was finally capped, reports show that oil is still washing up on the affected shorelines. But little has been said about it showing up in the people themselves. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network performed tests on blood samples collected from the Gulf residents, during the months of September, November and December. The tests were analyzed by a professional lab in Georgia and the results were interpreted by LEAN’s environmental chemist. The findings showed high levels of benzene, which is a component of crude oil. These levels, when compared to the general population appeared to represent very high levels. This can and should be considered a major health concern, as benzene is known to cause potentially serious health problems. Some of these problems include but are not limited to; leukemia, anemia, kidney damage and potential reproductive problems in women. Serious respiratory problems were evident in a boy just 10 years old. Other petrochemicals (isooctane and methylpentane) were also present in the samples.

As discussed in previous articles/posts health issues begin to appear later on and need to be addressed with the same attention as the financial distress already suffered by the victims of BP’s oil spill. These are not just people’s livelihoods on the line, it is their lives in the most literal sense of the word. The government has yet to address this unfolding health crisis and the same can be said of BP. As is the case with financial restitution, it is up to the local politicians, their citizens and attorneys that represent them to keep the pressure on BP and the government to address (and ultimately pay for) these very serious issues.

BP and its compensation structure with respect to Mr. Feinberg’s law firm has been a point of discussion and contention for some time now. Public advocacy groups have raised some important questions on this matter. It’s only fair to assume that, not only does BP want do right by the victims of Gulf Coast oil spill, but also want to limit their liability to keep their shareholders happy. So one of the questions raised is -Are they using some performance criteria to determine what the compensation to the Feinberg’s firm should be and if so what is the criteria? No doubt several factors are likely playing a role, such as his handling of the GCCF fund as it reflects on BP (aka public relations issues), limiting the amount distributed from the fund, and/or reducing the amount of lawsuits going forward. The latter would be accomplished by people accepting their final payments in greater numbers, as evidenced in the recent rise in the use of the quick pay option. Mr. Feinberg claims that the processing of the claims (amounts paid or number of claims processed) is not related to compensation of anyone involved in the operation. Assuming this also applies to him, there clearly are still more questions than answers.  Not unlike the spilled oil that keeps floating to the surface along the gulf coast, the truth will finds its way to the surface too. Provided that the questions continue to be asked.

Not surprisingly, BP declined to comment on the matter along with the details of the contract it has with Mr. Feinberg’s law firm.

The SRIA, The Santa Rosa Island Authority, received a payment from BP in the amount of $420,109. The payment exceeded the SRIA claimed amount of $340,000. While this appears very amicable on the part BP to go the “extra mile”, what does it mean to individual residents/victims who are still waiting? Are larger paid claims more newsworthy and as a result better PR for the oil giant? No way to tell for sure but for now let’s consider this a small victory for the SRIA, who plans to use the extra funds it received for the Quietwater Beach renourishment. Another bit of encouragement to take away from this news is that individual residents and small businesses can fight knowing that BP can and does pay. So simply settling for a smaller and quicker amount (such as the quick final pay option) may not need to be the first option that the victims opt for. And it certainly should not be the only one.

Now that President Obama’s appointed oil spill commission has issued its final report, appropriate action needs to be taken as soon as possible. The commission needs to avoid missing the opportunity to close legal and regulatory loopholes. Every time a disaster of such proportions occurs it presents the government and its citizens with an opportunity to make substantial changes to prevent future disasters. According to the commission the blowout of BP’s Macando well was in fact preventable, sighting mistakes made by all parties involved (not just BP). The safety measures used by the oil and gas industry have been questionable at best. Regulatory agencies share some of the blame as they have failed to keep up with the advancements and techniques used by the industry. It will come as no surprise that the industry will try to resist some of the necessary changes, so getting the industry to admit to these failures is another hurdle that must be overcome now. This will not be an easy task as the Big Oil’s priority is profit and not safety as evidenced by the findings. However to continue letting them set their own safety standards would be no less negligent than the corporate executives that let this happen in the first place. Let’s hope that the panel’s objectives go far beyond than simply satisfying some political objectives.

There has been a surge in quick final payments being accepted by the victims of the gulf oil spill. Desperation on the part of the victims combined with propaganda may have been the culprit. Acceptance of final payments is a big plus for BP and other parties responsible, since the victims upon acceptance of final payment waive their right to sue BP and all parties involved in the spill. According to GCCF data, almost 80,000 quick pay claims have been paid so far.  That is almost 45% of all paid claims to date.

This is a very concerning large number of Claimants that are accepting much less compensation that what they ultimately and likely deserve.  More importantly, the Claimants are signing a very broad waiver, as part of the release for accepting the quick final pay option.

Mr. Feinberg reiterated that people still have two other options – final settlements, which cover all present and future damages and also require the same waiver as the quick pay option; and quarterly interim payments, which don’t require a waiver. While it’s true that these other options are available, some victims are not fully aware of their rights – or that they should discuss their matter with an independent attorney, instead of just relying on BPs recommendations. Even when they are aware, the constraints of time and diligent paper work that’s required to get paid scares people away. This is precisely why it is so important to get a complimentary consultation from an experienced attorney.  Indeed, the Attorney Generals from the Gulf Coast region have warned people to not sign away their rights without exploring all their options.