BP moves forward with Gulf spill medical settlement after appeals dismissed
Source: Times - Picayune New Orleans
It has been more than a year since the federal judge overseeing the sprawling BP oil spill litigation approved a settlement allowing for payments and treatment for hundreds of thousands of coastal residents and cleanup workers who said they were made ill or were injured as a result of exposure to oil and dispersants. BP can now start paying medical claims under its $9.2 billion spill settlement after an appeals court in New Orleans dismissed the final claim opposing the agreement this week.
Cleanup workers and Gulf Coast residents who are a part of the class action can receive up to $60,700 in medical payments for a range of specific ailments, including skin rashes, respiratory problems and neurological issues.
In addition to payments, class members will receive periodic medical exams and tests over the next 21 years. BP also agreed to fund a $105 million grant program aimed at improving access to quality medical care in 17 coastal parishes and counties from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.
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"It's been a long four years, but now hundreds of thousands of people will finally get the medical care and compensation they need," the plaintiffs attorneys said. "BP's spill had not only a profound environmental and economic effect on the Gulf, but the oil and chemicals released took an enormous toll as well."
Read more: http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/bp_moves_forward_with_gulf_spi.html#incart_river
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