WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A report released today by BP spreads blame for the Gulf Coast disaster across many entities, including Transocean and Halliburton. Meanwhile, news accounts have indicated that final payment protocols for the BP fund / Gulf Coast Claims Facility will require claimants to waive future legal rights against all corporations involved in the disaster.

The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President Gibson Vance:

"From the very beginning, BP has distorted the impact of this disaster and attempted to skirt accountability, so the accuracy and candor of their report is unknown.  But in light of BP spreading blame among multiple corporations, claimants must not be forced to sign away all their legal rights if accepting settlements from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

"To force Gulf Coast residents and businesses to grant all these corporations blanket immunity before the disaster and its scope is fully understood is unconscionable.

"The best way for BP claims administrator Ken Feinberg to receive broad participation in the fund is to create a system that is fair to the Gulf Coast without needlessly bailing out BP and other parties."

As the world's largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) 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.  Visit http://www.justice.org.

SOURCE American Association for Justice

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