The Oil Spill is Thickening More Than Just the Gulf

In recent weeks, the backlash of the Gulf Coast oil spill is increasing. Not only has the off-shore oil source not been plugged, with animals dying and farmers suffering, but the stack of lawsuits is rising. From civil suits to criminal cases, compensation for this unfortunate mishap is being sought from every angle.

In addition to the many cases already filed and pending, the U.S. Department of Justice is set to launch a criminal investigation into the spill. At this point, it's no secret the government is quite upset about the spill itself, but even more so, the lack of haste in cleaning things up. BP recently spent $50 million on a TV ad about the disaster, yet are a bit slow to issue compensation checks to awaiting fishermen.

Even though criminal investigations can often take years to complete, getting the DOJ involved along with independent parties could be sure help speed the process.