On a recent afternoon, a steady stream of Vietnamese fishermen, business owners and seafood processor workers cycled through the BP claims office in eastern New Orleans, despite heavy showers outside.
The office averages about 60 visitors a day, says Robert Haviland, a BP community outreach team leader. By 3 p.m., more than 100 claimants had signed in. Eighteen workers and three Vietnamese translators, to help with the jobless fishermen of the nearby Vietnamese community, handle the workload, he says.
Most claims are processed within a few days, Haviland says.
Claims missing documentation or with a questionable basis for compensation are not rejected outright, they’re just kept open, Haviland says. A local strip club owner recently filed a claim asking for compensation because out-of-work fishermen, his main clients, had stopped visiting the club. That claim remains open, he says.
See the full article from “USA Today”
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