Claim centers are closing today throughout the Gulf Coast for damages caused by the 2010 oil spill. Efforts will now focus on evaluating the claims.
Hundreds of thousands of claims are now awaiting review by a court-appointed administrator.
BP says it’s already paid out more than $5 billion on 66,000 individual claims. The settlement reached with BP two years after the spill does not have a cap. BP says it could top $10 billion.
The deadline to file a claim was earlier this month, triggering a rush of applications. Offices stayed open to answer questions on existing claims.
A federal judge in New Orleans determined more than 3 million barrels gushed from BP’s blown-out well. That same judge will decide how much BP will pay in Clean Water Act fines. Those could be almost an additional $14 billion.
