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Virginia Medical Malpractice Cases
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- How Hospitals Can Prevent Operating on the Wrong Limb
- Virginia Med Mal Cap Will Not Increase, Thanks to Gov. McDonnell
- Virginia Medical Malpractice Victims Now Entitled to More Hospital Information
- A Misinterpreted Mammogram Can Lead to Delayed Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Virginia, DC, and Maryland Personal Injury Attorney News
BP Oil Spill Business Claims Going Unsupported
Posted on Oct 19, 2010
When BP said they would surpass the $75 million liability cap and pay out $20 billion to victims of the Gulf oil spill, you would think claims would be easy to file and fulfill. Unfortunately, there are many claims being filed with little to no supportive information or with inflated damages. These sorts of claims are the ones tying up the settlement process, causing harm to the legitimate claimants.
Reports from the Associated Press cite several instances where business owners who were legitimately impacted by revenue loss as a result of the oil spill are being compensated for thousands less than what they are rightfully entitled. A wedding planner in Alabama filed for $240,000 in lost revenue because of cancelations between July and December. Her check from the BP claims center totaled a little under $8,000.
There are many factors at play that could be causing the delays and under-compensation, such as:
- poor documentation;
- fraudulent claims;
- changes in eligibility policy;
- additional reviews; and
- general "kinks in the system."
At the very least, BP has come up with the above reasons to support their scatterbrained claims process.
The big question now is what happens when personal injury claims come around? There have already been reports of workers involved in the spill cleanup who suffered from heat stroke and breathing problems during the hot summer months. Because the spill is so new, and a disaster like this has never hit so harshly and so close to populated U.S. beach areas, there's no telling what kind of health issues we may see from this in the future.
We're lucky BP owned up to its responsibilities and chose to waive the $75 million liability cap on their own, but what happens 10 years down the road when their $20 billion is paid out and we start to see new health conditions caused by exposure to the spill?
Contacting a Fairfax Personal Injury Attorney
Filing personal injury claims for exposure to past hazardous conditions can be a very difficult type of case to handle, especially alone. Fairfax personal injury attorney Ben Glass has the experience and determination to handle these types of cases. If you're a resident in the Virginia and D.C. areas, we can help settle your personal injury claim. For more information, contact us today - 703-591-9829.
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- Posted on 10/19/2010BP Oil Spill Business Claims Going Unsupported
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