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Easy Sustainability Answers

Who’s getting paid by BP? And who isn’t?

Adriene Hill Jul 8, 2010

***Easy Answer: Louisiana residents have received nearly half of the money handed out so far. Even though they account for only about a quarter of the claims. ***

BP is posting daily updates of its claims data. Including information about where the money is going:

And who’s asking for it:

Why the discrepancy?

According to BP, part of the reason is that Louisiana was hit first and claims started coming in earlier so BP has had more time to process them.

BP also said that claims from businesses related to tourism can be harder to calculate than claims from fisherman. Why? BP is paying out a flat lump sum to fisherrnen. But other business owners have to prove lost income through tax returns and other receipts.

Another interesting tidbit in the claims data: BP just paid out its first two checks for “bodily injury.” The company wrote two checks for a total of $2,500. So far the company has received 1,800 claims related to bodily injury–everything from headaches to nausea to stress.

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