President Obama’s fact-finding visits to Alabama, Mississippi and Florida Monday underscore at least one thing: the BP oil spill disaster off the coast of Louisiana isn’t impacting just that state, but also the entire Gulf of Mexico region, including Texas. And that region is being devastated with battered businesses.

Obama also plans to address the nation about the crisis Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the White House is pressuring BP to set up an escrow account for paying off oil spill damage claims.

Such claims are likely to come from those who might otherwise make a living from shrimping, fishing and related businesses, from hotels, motels, restaurants and other tourism enterprises to gas stations, food retailers, food preparers, packers, truckers and others. Sadly, oil spill damages are making their survival difficult, if not impossible.

Such Gulf Coast businesses and their owners and workers are all innocent victims of BP’s negligence in sparking the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion and fire. That catastrophe killed 11 workers and began the horrific oil spill that’s still spewing into the Gulf’s once-safe waters.

Such victims now must fight to survive financially due to mistakes made by BP, the world’s third largest energy company, whose poor safety record dates back long before the Deepwater tragedy.

As Obama pressed BP to create an independent victims compensation fund, BP’s board was meeting in London to consider deferring its second quarter dividend and putting that money in escrow until the size of BP’s liability from the spill is determined. In the previous two quarters, BP had profits of more than $10 billion.

BP now has a legal obligation to use such wealth to compensate the many thousands of innocent Americans whose livelihood it has ruined through its oil rig negligence. Veteran Gulf Coast law firm Jim S. Adler & Associates will fight to get what’s right for such individuals and businesses who have been unfairly staggered by the BP oil spill disaster.

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