As Gulf businesses collapse, claimants still waiting for checks from BP

06-14-2010 • LAtimes.com

Across the gulf, residents already shell-shocked by the tar balls, oil soup and dead sea life washing up on their beaches are getting hit with a second wave: the sudden collapse of their livelihoods, and the equally intimidating challenge of getting BP to pay for it. President Obama, who on Monday makes his fourth visit to the gulf in six weeks, will try to compel BP to set aside a "substantial" sum in an escrow fund for economic damage claims. Senate Democrats on Sunday requested that BP set aside $20 billion that would be overseen by an independent party, a contingency that could put further stress on the oil giant, which has lost about half its market value since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig started the worst spill in U.S. history. The 42,000 claims filed with the oil company so far go well beyond the shrimpers, oystermen and seafood processers who have been the spill's most visible victims. Hotels, restaurants, machine shops, bars and tour companies all became collateral damage when the Gulf of Mexico, one of the nation's most important fisheries and tourist destinations, became an industrial cleanup site.

1 Comments in Response to As Gulf businesses collapse, claimants still waiting for checks from BP

Comment by Powell Gammill

Entered on: 6/14/2010 6:53:10 AM

Come on you have their word. They will get to you right after they pay off those massive government fines and deal with bankruptcy court. You are on their priority list . . . just not at the front of the line. More near the bottom.

Make a Comment (1) • Email Link • Send Letter to Editor