Environment Archive

Should I File a BP Claim? Do I Need to File a BP Lawsuit?

June 24th, 2010. By Kristine B

Ok, so for the past week, there’s been a lot of news on the BP $20 billion fund. And you’ve been reading about how quickly BP wants to release the monies to claimants. But many of you who’ve been affected by the BP oil spill may not know just what you’re supposed to do. You’ve probably got questions like…

Do I have to file a claim with BP?

Should I get a lawyer for my BP claim—or just submit a claim to BP?

Will my BP claim be enough to fully compensate me?

If I file a claim with BP, can I also file a lawsuit against BP?

Questions, questions. And a lot of confusion. Well, recently LawyersAndSettlements.com interviewed attorney Wes Pittman of The Pittman Firm, P.A. on this very subject. And I thought it would make a good topic for Pleading Ignorance—so here goes…

Yes, BP has indeed set aside a $20 billion fund for legitimate claims from people affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Although the news is good, that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing for all victims of the spill. Your first question is probably: 

Do I have to file a claim if I’ve been affected by the BP oil spill? 

One of the main ways that the claim fund affects victims is that victims must file a claim before they can file a lawsuit, according to attorney Wes Pittman. Pittman says filing a claim is a prerequisite for filing a lawsuit. So, if you intend to file a lawsuit, you must first file a claim with BP.

Fair enough. But…

Does filing a claim with BP mean I don’t have to file a lawsuit?

In a perfect world, that’s what this would mean. But this is not a perfect world and there are many variables in each claim. For example, BP says it will pay out all “legitimate” claims—take a look and you’ll see most quotes about the claims BP will pay mention the word “legitimate”. But, what BP sees as legitimate and what you and your lawyer see as legitimate may not be the same.

For example, there are many people indirectly affected by the oil spill. Consider event planners who make money planning events along the coast and have lost income because people don’t want Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill, Pleading Ignorance
Posted in Environment, Pleading Ignorance | 3 Comments »

BP Oil Spill Fix #16 – BP Doesn’t Want it Fixed?

June 22nd, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s an interesting twist from a reader—though I have to say, those of us who lean toward the skeptical side of things have perhaps had this thought nestled in our minds already… What if, just what if, BP didn’t really want a quick fix for the mess it’s created? Not that they don’t care about all those who’ve been impacted. Not that they don’t want to make things right. But, hey, it takes time to dig a relief well and, gee, that relief well could come in quite handy and, hmm, if they plug the well that’s spewing oil into the Gulf before the relief well is up and running…hmm. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too jaded at this point. Guess I’m a bit jaded, too, when I hear that U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has blocked the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. So here’s what our reader has to say about fixing the BP Oil Spill… 

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #16

“I have also submited my ideas and have seen other ideas that will work. I now realize that BP does not want to fix the problem just yet, they want to drill the relief well and plug the well that way they will have the relief well in place to use just like the old well. I hope the gov. will not let them use the relief well for pumping oil.”

What do you think?

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »

BP Oil Spill Fix #15 – Channeling Martha Stewart?

June 21st, 2010. By AbiK

I’m ashamed to admit that after spending seemingly countless hours with a garden hose nozzle in-hand, I have not correlated it to a possible fix for the BP Oil Spill. (Clearly, I am no match for that self-made perpetual font of “good things”, Martha Stewart.) But, then again, that’s what folks like Elle and Steve are for. Elle, or Steve, or both of them, emailed this one to us. So as we now await—at day #63 of this mess—the upcoming ruling on whether the 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling will be lifted, here’s their idea:

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #15

“Create a massive “garden hose” from tarp-like material. it should be 100 feet in diameter at the base to absorb the pressure  and funnel into a smaller size at the top. have divers (or something) secure the hose to the ocean bed around the pipe (pipe at the center of the hose). then funnel the oil into boats on the surface that are pumping the contents of the hose from
the center of the contained spill.”

100 feet in diameter—now that’s a lot of hose! But inspiration does, indeed, sometimes come from some of the simplest and most commonplace things…

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks Elle and Steve!

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

BP Experience Should Have us Catching a Fracking Clue

June 21st, 2010. By AbiK

We’ve posted before about fracking—the hotly debated method of extracting natural gas from the ground, aka “hydraulic fracturing”. It’s a topic that shows up almost daily in newspapers of towns situated in the area of the Marcellus Shale—places in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York—where new sources of natural gas have been discovered. And it’s being debated because some folks aren’t completely convinced that there is no risk of contamination of underground drinking water sources.

So tuck that thought away for a moment and let’s just recap what’s dominated the news for close to two months now. That would be the BP Oil Spill.And that’s led to some reminiscing about the Exxon Valdez spill. And gee, everyone thought all that was safe, right? Who could’ve predicted any of this? Oh—of course, in hindsight you’ve got folks who say there were “issues” with the Deepwater Horizon and something was “bound to happen”—but clearly, those that voiced such concerns even three or six months ago were poo-pooed.

Fine, we’re a nation built on optimism. Capitalism itself could never thrive with a glass-is-half-empty world view. But, be that as it may, it’s always prudent to plan for the “what ifs”—what if, perchance, the proverbial glass Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP Oil Spill, fracking, hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic-fracturing-water-contamination-epa-fracking-hydrofracking
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | No Comments »

BP Oil Spill Fix #14 – Dutch Masters

June 18th, 2010. By AbiK

You would think in a country that not only put a man on the moon but also spawned such tongue-tripping loquaciousness as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious that we’d be able to come up with a fix—a long-term, solid solution—to the BP Oil Spill. It’s apparently been more of a challenge than the bigwig oil engineers could contend with—and, rather than bringing together the collective brain power of the oil industry to find a fix, it seems the Big Oil fraternity is steering clear of this baby in a way not dissimilar to the way everyone flees the frat brother who’s left holding the tap at an underage drinking party.

Case in point, a quote from Chevron’s CEO, John Watson, as reported in The New York Times this week, “I believe the independent investigation will show that this tragedy was preventable.” True though it may be, clearly you can kiss camaraderie—and help—goodbye. 

So, one of our readers recommends looking elsewhere for a viable solution. Namely, Holland. Here’s what he says…

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #14

“It is my understanding that Holland (within days) offered assistance with the spill and was debuffed. First, Holland has some of the best engineers in the world. Second, we need all the help we can get. This kind of arrogant pride is stupid and, “the stongest democatic nation” did not get to that point by acting stupid.”

I can’t speak in depth to the Dutch engineering prowess—they can certainly engineer a good beer and between bicycles and windmills they knew how to be “green” before anyone on this side of the pond knew what the word “compost” meant. But if there’s one nation that knows water management and containment and all things shipping, it’s The Netherlands. And as I think about that Dutch legend of the little boy using his finger to plug the hole in the dike—btw, that picture is from Madurodam and if you’re ever in Holland, it’s a miniature must-see marvel of the entire country—it strikes me that maybe, just maybe, we should be taking the Dutch up on any offers of assistance.

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks to our reader (who didn’t leave his name)!

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | No Comments »