AAJ questions oil spill victims rights in claims process

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20
/PRN-GHN News Editor -Gulf Coast folks worry about being left behind in
the oil spill crisis, so in response to claims for compensation the AAJ offers
advance information.

That

statement from the Americal Association for Justice (AAJ) comes on the
heels of recent findings of oil beneath the surface of the ocean in
considerable amounts and questions regarding the health risks of the
dispersants BP used to break up the oil spill.



The AAJ tells us it is providing
information about the rights of the people impacted by the oil spill so
that people understand and take precautions regarding their legal
rights.  It also maintains it does so that government officials
representing people at the local level ask the right questions.

 President Gibson Vance,
representing the AAJ, has this to say regarding the release of
protocols for the emergency payments from the BP / Gulf Coast Claims
Facility:

"As
we stated when this fund was first conceived, AAJ is firmly behind
efforts to quickly and fairly compensate Gulf Coasters for their losses
due to the spill.

 The
voluntary claims process may provide adequate and immediate relief to
certain claimants through this emergency payment process."

"However,
the protocols still leave questions to be answered about the future and
final claim protocols.  For example, it would be detrimental to
claimants if they are forced to accept final payments before the full
impact of the spill is realized.

"Additionally,
the final protocols may require waiving future rights to hold
corporations other than BP accountable, even if they bear responsibility
for this disaster. As we look forward to the final protocols, we hope
this is not the case.  Victims of the oil disaster deserve their full
rights under the current law.

"We
will be monitoring the claims facility as it moves forward, as the
civil justice system will be essential in ensuring residents and
businesses can receive justice and hold BP and other corporations
accountable.  Despite the urgency of the economic situation, haste
cannot be to the detriment of justice."

AAJ's release on principles for Claim fund have also been provided.  The organization was previously known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of American.  The organization
says it "works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive
justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence
or misconduct of others--even when it means taking on the most powerful
corporations."