BP Agrees to a $20 Billion Oil Spill Victims' Compensation Fund

More than eight weeks after the Deep Horizon oil rig explosion and resulting oil leak, which has become the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history, BP has agreed to a $20 billion victims' fund following a meeting with President Barack Obama. BP has also promised to set aside $100 million for workers who lost jobs due to the drilling moratorium imposed following the explosion and to suspend paying dividends to shareholders for the rest of the year. The compensation fund is being managed by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the attorney who oversaw the compensation fund for victims of the September 11 attacks.

Meanwhile, BP CEO Tony Hayward said he is "deeply sorry" during a hearing before Washington lawmakers. He said that BP has still not reached a conclusion about the cause of the disaster and faced criticism for a poor safety record over the past five years, during which 26 workers were killed and more than 700 injured. More than 30,000 pages of BP documents, including e-mails, have been reviewed showing that BP never once mentioned or addressed the dangers of the Deep Horizon well, which had apparently been showing signs of a potential explosion just weeks before the disaster occurred.

BP Oil Spill Environmental Effects

The BP oil spill has spread to Pensacola, Florida, where once-white beaches are now blotted with oily tar balls. Tourists are canceling their vacations, and the hit could cost local hotels and business owner millions of dollars this summer. Dying marine life is painting a dark and morbid picture of the effects the BP oil spill is having on the environment along the Gulf Coast.

Several other states along the Gulf of Mexico are being affected as well, as BP's latest oil spill estimates are reaching the public and causing outrage across the country. Newly disclosed documents show that BP made a worst-case estimate of 2.5 million gallons a day leaking into the Gulf of Mexico but failed to disclose the information to the public. The most recent government figures estimate that the BP well has gushed between 66 million and 120 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.

BP is currently using a containment cap to collect about 15,000 barrels of oil a day, but this is only about one-quarter of the amount leaking daily. BP is also developing a new system to replace the current containment device in the hopes of collecting more oil.

BP Lawsuits

BP is facing hundreds of lawsuits from all fronts, including the families of the dead oil-rig workers, clean-up workers who have fallen ill, shareholders and business owners across the Gulf of Mexico. Class action lawsuits have also been filed against BP for the damage caused to the shoreline of four states. At this time, there are an additional 36 cases, including group cases with potentially thousands of plaintiffs, over environmental damage, wrongful death and personal injuries caused by the oil spill.

The lawyers of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis and Overholtz are among Pensacola's leading wrongful death lawyers and personal injury attorneys and are dedicated to obtaining justice for all their victims. They can help you obtain compensation from BP if you or a loved one has suffered as a result of the catastrophic oil spill. AWKO Law has successfully tried a number of class action lawsuits against large corporations who have failed in their responsibility to inform and keep the public safe. Contact our BP oil spill lawyers at (888) 255-2956 to learn more about your right for compensation.