Oil Spill Losses

The BP oil spill, the worst environmental disaster ever, has largely disappeared from the front pages of the newspapers amid assurances from public officials that the oil has disappeared. That’s convenient.

Where has five million barrels of oil released into the Gulf gone?

For all the business operators and Gulf workers who claim they have lost their livelihood, that is a convenient out. But it does not make their losses any less, and it may not be true.

Rick Outzen is the publisher and editor of Independent News, the alternative newsweekly for Northwest Florida and his report is republished in the Daily Beast.

He reports that fishermen hired by BP are still finding tar balls but are being instructed to hide that fact. One fisherman, Mark Williams, tells the paper he found tar balls as large as three inches wide floating off the Florida coast. When he told his boss, a private consulting company hired by BP, the report logbook reflected there was “no reporting of oil or tar balls anymore.” They didn’t want to hear it. They were there to remove booms, that’s all.

Certainly, it is in the best interest of BP to minimize the damage. Less damage means less payout of the $20 billion it has committed to compensate businesses and workers devastated by the environmental disaster. Less damage means BP can cut back on response operations. Less damage means that fishing season can resume. But who wants to eat the catch from the crude oil soaked Gulf, which also has chemical dispersants in an unknown quantity?

Commercial fisherman, Mark Stewart, has a video on YouTube showing his crew dipping an absorbent cloth into the Gulf water three-quarters of a mile off the Mississippi beaches.

The Florida oil spill loss attorneys at Farah & Farah is still talking to individuals and businesses that have suffered damages due to the Gulf Coast oil spill. Potential damages include, but are not limited to, injuries from the spill, property damage, lost employment, and lost business revenue.

We are dedicated to helping serious affected victims recover from substantial and catastrophic losses, despite all of the hype about the oil spill disappearing.

Real estate developer St. Joe Co. has filed a lawsuit against BP for failing to cement the Deepwater Horizon well properly, leading to the largest oil spill in history.

Halliburton, known as a major defense contractor, is also an oil field contractor that had sole responsibility for cementing the Macando well which is attached to the rig owned and operated by BP that exploded April 20. In the complaint filed in Delaware, St. Joe said Halliburton was negligent and bears full responsibility for the spill of crude oil that has polluted a portion of the Gulf. The lawsuit accuses Halliburton of “failing at every stage” of the cementing process.

St. Joe Co. has substantial real estate holding in Florida and it claims it will lose a significant amount of money in its value. UPI reports at least 70% of its more than 577,000 acres in Florida fall within 15 miles of the Gulf coast.

Losses for St. Joe include its assets and an interruption to its business. The value of its stock is down about 40%. The company says it has lost somewhere in the range of $1 billion and is looking for full restitution.

If your business has suffered a severe financial loss, a loved one has suffered an injury, or your property has been damaged as a result of the BP spill, the Florida oil spill economic loss attorneys at Farah & Farah are ready to consult on your situation and explore your options for compensation.

Florida’s Gulf waters have been reopened to commercial fishing. The announcement was made in late July by federal officials opening more than 26,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola to commercial and recreational fishing.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg reassured the public that the seafood from the area is safe in an official statement on August 2.

“Through close coordination with our state and federal partners, we are confident all appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that seafood harvested from the waters being opened today is safe and that Gulf seafood lovers everywhere can be confident eating and enjoying the fish that will be coming out of this area.”

Hamburg talks about the importance that commercial fishermen and seafood processors return to their livelihoods, but makes no mention of the chemical dispersant that was used in Gulf waters to break up the crude oil dumped by BP following an April 20 explosion on its Deepwater oil rig.

At the same time, Hamburg announced the opening of some Mississippi state waters to commercial fishing.
Captain Kenneth Daniels Jr. and his crew have been out of work for three months and heralded the reopening to fishing, he tells the Bradenton Herald. A wide range of people and businesses have felt oil spill economic loss.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard both confirm there has not been a light oil sheen observed in the northeastern Gulf since mid-June.

Safe Seafood?
To determine whether the seafood is safe, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took 52 samples of fish species from the Gulf from June 23 to July 13. After determining where the fish were caught, they went to a lab in Pascagoula where the fish underwent a taste and smell test as well as chemical analysis. The green light was issued after it was determined the food was safe for consumption. However, more than 57,000 square miles of federal waters will remain closed, which represents nearly a quarter of the Gulf’s economic zone.

We certainly hope the seafood is safe, but federal officials told first responders following 9/11 in 2001, that the air at Ground Zero was safe too. It turns out it wasn’t and many today have lung cancers as well as respiratory problems and sued over environmental health issues. Let’s hope our government learned from that error and has not put economic considerations above public health.

Red flags were erected on Pensacola Beach, warning swimmers to stay out of the water, as workers grabbed fist-sized tar balls of oil from the white sand.

The sludge resembled pudding and covered three miles of Pensacola Beach, according to the Miami Herald. One visitor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said he witnessed quart to half-gallon size pools of oil.

Since then, 1,300 people workers have made progress cleaning up the beach on the 66th day since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and subsequent contamination of the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil is being seen far west in Walton and Escambia counties in the Florida Panhandle, and beach-goers are warned not to touch the oil and any dead or dying wildlife that may be smothered with the gooey mess.
Gulf Coast counties say they are incredibly frustrated with BP because the check isn’t in the mail. Residents there pulled permits to erect barriers to stop the oil from coming onto the Destin beaches, specifically the Destin Pass waterway, an area treasured by boaters and beach-lovers.

But it has been costly. The county had planned on using a containment boom, an air net, and barges to stop the flow of crude. At the same time, expectations were that BP was financing the clean-up equipment with $2 million, but the check hasn’t materialized. BP says there is a process in place and it’s working on getting the funds.

Out in the water, strips of oil are now floating between Pensacola and Destin, drifting away from Louisiana and Mississippi. The most western county of Florida, Escambia County, has double red flags flying on the beach, a sign to stay out of contaminated waters.

For animal lovers, a beached dolphin, rescued Wednesday and taken to be rehabilitated in Panama City, died on Thursday.

As Florida oil spill lawyers who are currently investigating claims of injury and loss associated with this environmental tragedy, we will meet with you for a complimentary consultation of your situation if you have experienced economic loss or other calamities due to the oil spill.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has sent a letter to BP’s COO asking for copies of all Florida claims data related to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf, an article on TampaBay.com stated. The state wants to evaluate the process for claims in order to be able to measure the economic impact of individual losses to the state as a whole.

The state’s Oil Spill Task Force decided that was the only way it could gauge the economic impact on the state. The electronic file requested would include every business, individual, and government claim throughout the state and it is to be updated weekly. The data should indicate whether the claim has been approved, denied, or is pending.

This promises to be an accounting nightmare.

As businesses in the state suffer during the high months of the tourist summer season, the losses need to be compared to the money BP is sending to help those ailing businesses. For individuals, the losses need to be balanced with the claims paid by BP. Besides tourism, fishermen, shrimpers and oyster men, guide boat owners, and the businesses that serve them, are all impacted.

As a result of the impact on our state’s businesses, Florida will lose revenue from drops in tax payments and fees.

Gov. Crist wants all Floridians and businesses to be compensated. In his letter to BP’s Operating Officer, Doug Suttles, Crist says he has spoken with Floridians around the state and many are concerned they have not yet received the money they requested.

“As you know, I am still deeply concerned about the process our citizens and businesses must face in order to receive relief for their losses.” Florida economic loss attorneys are also concerned about the financial loss to the state.

The governor is asking Suttles to work with the Florida Office of Policy and Budget and the Florida Department of Revenue to provide the data. Meanwhile BP stock hit a 14-year-low on Friday, June 25, as it worries about the soaring cost of cleanup.

A new computer model has residents of the east coast of Florida worried about the effects from the BP Gulf oil gusher, according to an article by the Associated Press. The model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was released Friday. It shows crude oil hitting the shores of the Panhandle has as high as an 80 percent chance of hitting Miami and the Florida Keys. By August 18th, that model shows the oil could hug the eastern coast of Florida, coming within 20 miles, and traveling as far north as Fort Lauderdale. The chance of that happening is 61 to 80 percent.

What could be seen on shore? Tar balls, oil remnants, and oil sheen, says the forecast. Other areas of Florida are paying attention to the computer model too. It says the western coast of our state has about a 20 percent chance or lower of being hit with the oil. Other parts of southwest Florida, such as Fort Myers, have a less than one percent chance.

The NOAA trajectories also show that the oil plume is currently 42 miles off the shore of Panama City, and 251 miles from St. Petersburg, Florida. A westward current will continue for the next few days.

Florida tourism officials and the governor want to stress that all Florida beaches remain open! Even Pensacola Beach is open except to swimming and wading.

All of this shows how unpredictable the currents around our state can be. Satellite pictures are available to see the oil patterns here.

The 50 to 70 percent chance of rain Monday, June 5, along with three to five foot seas are expected to hamper some of the recovery efforts on and offshore.

The Florida oil spill economic loss lawyers at Farah and Farah continue to offer help to those businesses and individuals who are devastated by this horrific act on the part of BP. If you have suffered damage, personally and professionally, call our offices for a free consultation to explore your options.

Before you consider volunteering to pick up oil off soaked Florida beaches consider this. According to a foxnews.com report, a New Orleans emergency room physician reports that he is seeing many cleanup workers come in with the same symptoms, nausea, headaches and respiratory problems. The workers have been out on the water trying to clean up the oil from BP’s well. Dr. Damon Dietrich says he is seeing a pattern of symptoms he believes are due to breathing noxious fumes from the Coast oil spill disaster, the burning of crude or the dispersants dumped in the Gulf to try and break up the crude oil. There have been too many cases to make it a coincidence, he says. BP has gone so far to blame it on food poisoning. Others believe dehydration may be a factor. But remember when the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska caused workers there to have similar complaints.

Dispersants are known to be toxic to the central nervous system, blood, kidneys and liver. Hundreds of workers have sprayed dispersants along the Gulf trying to break up the oil before it hits the shores and the sensitive marshlands. One man says he was completely unable to function. He was onboard a boat that was burning oil and he says the dispersants were sprayed at night. BP says that didn’t happen. Workers are being told to wear protective gear such as goggles, gloves, respirators, and safety clothing.

As was the case with the Exxon Valdez spill, proving a cause and effect is very difficult when it occurs in the real world outside of a laboratory. That gives BP plausible deniability which is all the company really needs to attribute the similar symptoms to a host of other causes.

It’s surprising we haven’t seen more of these in our area. According to a News4Jax article, a protest ordered by the Jacksonville MoveOn Council was held at a BP gas station in Jacksonville Beach, Saturday, June 12. Carrying large signs with an anti-oil message, the protestors waved at passing cars to try and share the message – that BP is only technically on the hook to pay $75 million in damages to the Gulf of Mexico and beaches.

President Obama says he will hold BP accountable for the total dollar cost of the cleanup and the BP CEO has said it will pay “all necessary and appropriate clean-up costs” not mentioning who will determine which claims are “appropriate.”

BP has limited liability to $75 million which was capped under the Oil Pollution Act, established after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in a concession to the industry. Sens. Bill Nelson and Robert Menendez have introduced legislation to raise the cap to $10 billion and to allow claimants to collect from future BP revenues.

The $75 million cap however goes out the window if BP or any other defendant is eventually found to be grossly negligent or violated the law.

Expect years of oil spill damages litigation ahead to determine the responsible parties.

Anadarko Petroleum is a 25% stakeholder in the project. Transocean drilled the well. Cameron International was responsible for the blowout prevention equipment. Halliburton who is the private contractor for the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan was supposed to have cemented the well.

Sen. Nelson has called for a halt in new oil drilling. Despite BPs estimates, government estimates on the oil spill indicate 53 to 64 million gallons have spilled into the Gulf.

The Florida oil spill attorneys at Farah and Farah are investigating damage claims resulting from the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. If you have suffered financial losses a comprehensive consultation will help you determine your next step.

Homeowners in the Gulf coast areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida may be seeing some relief from foreclosure on their home if they have their mortgages through Citigroup Inc. Citigroup, which offers mortgages through CitiMortgage, plans to suspend home foreclosures through September 17th while Fannie May says the companies representing their home loans may suspend or reduce payment up to 90 days. In order to qualify, the homeowner must have a first time buyer loan through CitiMortgage. Based on an Associated Press report, homeowners with loans serviced by Fannie May could expect to have their loan suspended or reduced up to 90 days or beyond. Certain criteria must be met such as being within 25 miles of the coastal areas. Homeowners need to contact Fannie May or Freddie Mac to see what special relief is offered them if they are in the service area.

And for travelers, travel giant Orbitz is trying to persuade them to come to the Sunshine State. If you had a reservation within 20 miles of the oil slicked coast at one of 120 Florida hotels, you can have your hotel costs refunded if a beach is closed or declared dangerous. Consumers must have made their reservation between June 14 and July 31 on Orbitz and the travel company may expand the guarantee to hotels in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Farah and Farah is representing consumers and business owners who have no recourse on their own due to the Deepwater Horizon spill caused by BP. Call our economic losses Florida oil spill attorneys for a consultation and more information.

Alex Sink is Florida’s chief financial officer but it doesn’t take a state official to figure out that the state should sell off its 15 million shares of BP stock. The stock is plunging as the Gulf of Mexico is filling with crude oil. Florida has already lost more than $21 million from selling the BP stock it owned that was devalued since the April 20th Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The state had the rest in the state pension fund which has lost more than $64 million or about 40% of its value, says The Palm Beach Post. The BP stock accounts for about one-tenth of one percent of the total pension fund value. The State Board of Administration manages the state’s $114 billion pension fund, and Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum are SBA trustees along with Sink. No one wants to force a sale of BP stock preferring to leave it up to fund managers. The pension systems heavily invested in BP – Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System and the New Orleans City Employees Retirement system – have both filed suit against BP.

As of Wednesday morning, June 16, the stock’s value sank to a near 14-year low of $29.58 with the value rising slightly at the end of the day to $31.85.

Remember the Exxon Valdez tanker accident that spilled 11 million gallons into the Alaskan shoreline? That stock has increased ten-fold since 1989, 21 years after the accident. Do we believe that the Gulf of Mexico and the shoreline of Louisiana, Alabama and Florida will return to their pre-spill condition in 21 years? Probably not.

If you or a loved one has been injured or suffered damages due to the BP oil spill, you may have a claim that could include property damage, wrongful death or injuries, lost employment or business losses. Our Florida BP oil spill lawyers are dedicated to helping you recover from substantial losses.