Eric Holder Announces Independent Audit of BP Gulf Oil Spill Claims Fund

Posted in Alabama Maritime News,BP British Petroleum,Deepwater Horizon,Environment,Government,Gulf Coast,Jones Act,Louisiana Maritime News,Maritime Accidents,Maritime Law,Maritime Lawsuits,Mississippi Maritime News,Missouri Maritime News,Texas Maritime News,World Maritime News on July 21, 2011

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder has annouced Wednesday, July 20, that an independent audit will be performed on the $20 billion fund set up to compensate victims of the BP oil spill.

The Huffington Post reports:

In a letter to the fund’s administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, Holder stressed that the goal is to balance the need for resolving claims quickly and fairly along with the need to start an audit before the end of the year.

Holder said the fund’s “highest priority” should be to achieve speed and fairness.

Holder made a June 30 trip to the Gulf Coast in which he heard concerns from Alabama officials and residents about the transparency of the claims process.

In his letter, the attorney general said Feinberg agreed to an audit, a step that Holder has been urging for some time.

In response, Feinberg said the audit will begin this year but won’t disrupt “the timely processing of claims.” He said the audit “is something we have always considered we would do.”

To date, the fund has paid $4.7 billion to 198,475 claimants. The total number who have sought money stands at 522,506, many with multiple claims. In all, the fund has nearly 1 million claims and continues to receive thousands of claims each week.

Maritime attorneys, Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. work with Jones Act clients all along the Gulf Coast and throughout the nation. From Lake Charles to Lake Pontchartrain, our lawyers put decades of combined legal experience and extensive resources to work for clients who pursue compensation for their injuries under the Jones Act. We are the leading offshore injury law firm representing victims of the BP, Transocean Deepwater Horizon disaster, along with assisting businesses that were damaged by the impact of the Gulf oil spill. For a free consultation, call an expert maritime lawyer 24/7 at 800.773.6770.

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