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BP Reaches Settlement in Gulf Oil Spill Case

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BPOil and gas giant BP Plc (ADR) (NYSE: BP) has reached a settlement with thousands of individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The settlement is estimated to cost the U.K.-based company approximately $7.8 billion.

The settlement, which requires approval from a judge, will create two classes of claims; economic loss and medical. The economic loss category includes businesses, property owners and individuals, who were suffered economic damage due to the oil spill. The medical claims category, meanwhile, will include a number of individuals, who suffered health problems due to the 87-day long oil spill. The medical claims class includes a number of clean-up workers.


In a statement, Stephen Herman and James Roy, attorneys for the plaintiff’s group, said that the settlement will provide a full measure of compensation to hundreds of thousands in a transparent and expeditious manner under rigorous judicial oversight. Herman and Roy noted that the settlement does the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.

BP will make the payments from the balance of a $20 billion fund it created to compensate residents and businesses of Gulf Coast that were affected by the spill.

Bob Dudley, CEO of BP, said that the proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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