Sasha Chavkin was an intern at ProPublica. He has previously written for Mother Jones, the Nation, and Grist.
Sasha Chavkin
Intern
Gulf Spill Paymaster Acknowledges Transparency Problems and Outlines Fixes
Kenneth Feinberg said he recognized shortcomings in communicating with claimants and promised to give them more information going forward.
False Attorney Signatures Cast New Doubts on Foreclosures
False attorney signatures on foreclosure documents could place thousands of court cases in doubt.
Some Gulf Spill Claimants Waiting for Months: Feinberg Blames Tricky Policy Decisions
Some claimants from the Gulf oil spill have been waiting for months without a decision, and claims czar Ken Feinberg says the problem is in deciding, ‘What should we do with that claim?’
Gulf Spill Victims’ ‘Escalated’ Claims Still Languishing
Claimants, demonstrating financial hardship, who have been promised expedited payment on damage claims are still waiting, in some cases for weeks or months, for checks. Their claims have supposedly been “escalated,” but many are finding that escalation is a relative term.
Gulf Spill Fund Offers Little Information to Claimants
Acknowledging his operation should be doing a better job of providing information, the claims czar promises to deploy more agents in the Gulf to respond to desperate claimants.
Gulf Compensation Czar Says Claims Will No Longer Face Geographic Test
A decision by Kenneth Feinberg, the Gulf compensation czar, to no longer consider proximity to the spill in claims eligibility is particularly beneficial to hotels and restaurants in southern Florida that claimed a decline in tourism, though oil never arrived on their beaches
Gulf Spill Paymaster Says He Has Eliminated Claims Backlog – While Claimants Disagree
Gulf spill claims czar Kenneth Feinberg says his operation has eliminated backlog of older claims, but claimants still report problems.
Obama Administration Criticizes Slow Payments by Gulf Spill Claims Czar
The pace of BP claims payments is called unacceptably slow, and the official in charge promises new procedures to speed up the program.
Frustrated Oil Spill Claimants Consider Alternative Compensation Fund
Some claimants, frustrated by the wait in their applications for funds in the Gulf Coast to be adjudicated by claims czar Kenneth Feinberg, are turning to a little-known alternative fund administered by the Coast Guard.
Gulf Spill Paymaster Defends Progress While Weighing Changes
The paymaster managing the claims in the Gulf oil disaster says that he hopes to speed the payments, but that many claims don't have sufficient documentation. He also said he's thinking about some changes to make things clearer to claimants.
Report: Federal Disaster Response Plans Shortchange Worker Safety
In the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, a series of health complaints among cleanup workers led to widespread concerns about the adequacy of the safety training, protective equipment and chemical exposure monitoring provided by the government and BP. A new report by the Center for Progressive Reform contends that many of these problems stemmed from insufficient attention to worker safety in the government’s disaster response plans.
Gulf Compensation Chief Retreats From Promises to Speed Claims Process
Just two weeks into the Gulf oil spill claims process, payout czar Ken Feinberg admits the promises of payments within 48 hours or seven days are unrealistic, and apologizes for letting people down.
Have You Worked Processing Gulf Spill Damage Claims?
If you are working (or previously worked) for BP, the GCCF, Worley, ESIS, BrownGreer, the Garden City Group or any of the other subcontractors or temp agencies that have helped with the claims process, we want to hear about your experience.
Gulf Compensation Czar Apologizes for Falling Short of Goals
Gulf spill paymaster Ken Feinberg apologizes for the kinks in the claims process.
New Gulf Compensation Chief Lags in Processing Claims
Kenneth Feinberg’s new system for handling claims from the Gulf oil spill is already running into delays. Feinberg had guaranteed a two-day response time, but some claimants say it isn’t happening yet.
As Gulf Spill Claims Czar Takes Over, a Checklist of Promised Changes
Kenneth Feinberg takes over as the paymaster for the Gulf oil spill, and has promised new rules to speed the process. ProPublica will be watching.
BP Claims Tracker
Follow the damage claims from the Gulf Oil Spill paid by HP.
