Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the 20 billion U.S. dollars BP PLC oil-spill fund blamed for slow claims payments to victims, is offering a faster process for final compensation.
Individuals and businesses would be $ 5,000 $ 25,000 within two weeks if they agree to a fast-track payment process, Feinberg told reporters today a conference call. Only recipients are eligible to receive emergency payments, he said. The controls would be the final, lump sum payments and in return the owners must waive their rights to BP and the companies in the Gulf of Mexico spill sue.
“This is the quick-payment option,” said Feinberg. The adjustment was made to meet the needs of a diverse group of applicants, he said. “One size does not fit all.”
Government officials and residents of the Gulf Coast have criticized Feinberg and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is he does not rule on claims fast enough. Businesses are faced with “imminent failure,” Representative Jo Bonner, an Alabama Republican, said Feinberg in a Nov. 23 letter. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perrelli said he had “concerns about the pace of the process” in a Nov. 19 letter.
Claimants waiving the $ 5,000 or $ 25,000 payments may instead apply for interim payments on a quarterly basis, or for the final payments over the fast-track boundaries. Claimants have three years to make preliminary and final payment request. The deadline for requesting an emergency payment was November 23.
Backlog cleared
A backlog of claims will need to be approved by December 15, when asked Perrelli, Feinberg told reporters. Jessica Smith, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said the agency is satisfied Feinberg “heeded our call.”
Compensation for the quick-pay option is based on the size of emergency payments to date and was not a number “plucked from the sky,” said Feinberg. The option does not require claimants to provide supporting documentation.
A few spill victims seeking a higher level of compensation than offered by the fast payment plan. Feinberg said some ultimate compensation claims for damage in the double-digit millions. ”
The receivables facility, the methodology used to calculate the final payments are released as early as next week, he said.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times about the new payment system earlier today.
As of December 11 had received 463,795 claims fund claims and had written checks for almost $ 2,480,000,000 to more than 166,000 people and businesses, according to the website of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. More than 232,400 claimants had been denied.
Approximately 2000 to 3000 claims are “highly suspicious” and possibly fraudulent, Feinberg said.
The fund will provide plaintiffs free access to lawyers before signing away their legal rights. The facility will also hire local staff on site to help process claims, Feinberg said.
source:bloomberg
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