Our government made an unconscionable decision to not to even bother sending health workers in to the affected areas to do baseline health studies much less provide any health care to victims. The chances seem slim that deserving victims with health problems will either be compensated financially or be provided with adequate health care.
There are no words to describe the depth of BP's evil in forbidding cleanup workers use of adequate respiratory protection nor that of the government in allowing this to happen.
03/19/2012 2:55 pm
This article first appeared in The Louisiana Weekly March 12, 2012
Gulf residents will have another shot at getting spill-related, medical claims paid following a proposed settlement between BP and plaintiffs, announced in early March. Those that weren't compensated by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility -- set up after the spill to pay victims -- are waiting to learn more about the new system, including its proof of illness requirements. The GCCF paid for bodily injuries from BP's rig explosion nearly two years ago but rejected claims for other spill ailments.
BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee or PSC, representing claimants, are working on a final settlement to present to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans for his approval by mid-April. The agreement divides plaintiffs or claimants into two class actions, one for economic losses and another for medical issues. The settlement, which doesn't cover federal government complaints, is for an uncapped amount but BP estimates it will cost $7.8 billion.
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Under the settlement, residents along the Gulf Coast can be compensated for a range of spill-related conditions, including respiratory, skin and stomach ailments and headaches.
Tony Buzbee, partner in The Buzbee Law Firm in Houston, represented 19 injured, Deepwater Horizon rig workers, who were all paid by the GCCF for a combined total that exceeded $100 million. "I have a lot of cleanup workers exposed to dispersants, benzene and whatnot, but never tried to get their claims settled with Ken Feinberg," Buzbee said last week. "He told me he'd be happy to look at the claims but needed medical records."
Buzbee continued, saying "I don't know the new particulars of the settlement, but am told they will be more generous and might have a different approach to medical proof. I'm hoping more people will get paid for their ailments in the new process."
According to a March 3 announcement from the PSC, "cleanup workers can submit a claim with a declaration, under penalty of perjury, describing the conditions or symptoms after exposure, even if they did not seek medical treatment at the time of exposure." The statement also said:
"Residents and workers who suffer chronic symptoms or conditions from exposure will be required to submit medical records from the time of exposure and for ongoing medical care. Coastal residents and cleanup workers who experience future manifestation of illness retain the right to sue BP without proof of liability for the spill and exposure."
Fishermen who worked for BP's Vessels of Opportunity Program or VOO, doing oil cleanup from boats, are among those who came into contact with oil and the dispersants used to get rid of it. BP didn't allow VOO workers to wear respirators during cleanup work.
Dr. Mike Robichaux, who treats patients with spill ailments in Raceland, La., said "many of the people who are ill in southeast Louisiana are VOO workers -- largely from Lafourche, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes. There are also scores of patients from Louisiana and elsewhere who are ill but didn't work directly with toxic chemicals. They were exposed through fumes, sprays, skin contact with contaminated water, and in some cases by eating and drinking contaminated food."
Robichaux said some coastal residents don't have health insurance and didn't see a doctor when their symptoms first appeared -- which was sometimes well after the spill. He worries that claims of at least some of the victims without medical records might be declared ineligible.
Under the proposed settlement, BP has agreed to provide a $105 million grant to establish a five-year Gulf Coast Region Health Outreach Program. Coastal residents, including those who aren't class members in the settlement, will be allowed to participate in the program, which as described so far, will expand primary and mental health care and offer access to environmental health specialists. Some of the planned money will be spent on education about Gulf health issues.
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If you have medical symptoms from the spill, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is interviewing cleanup workers and volunteers for a research study. Gulf Coast residents interested in participating can phone 1-855-NIH-GULF or visit www.NIHGulfStudy.org
