LOXLEY, Alabama —On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 people and sending gallons of crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

For nearly three months, the wellhead sent a steady stream of oil into the Gulf, an estimated 210 million  gallons of oil before the well was capped 87 days later, making it the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

In September of 2011, an investigation by the U.S. government pointed to defective cement work on the well as the cause of the explosion, finding British Petroleum (BP) most at fault, along with Deppwater Horizon operator Transocean and contractor Hilliburton.

The disaster has spawned more than 130 private lawsuits as well as civil and criminal federal prosecutions. In November 2012, BP settled the federal case by pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter related to the explosion and fire, and agreeing to pay $4.525 billion in fines and other payments.

While there is no real cap on the claims, BP estimates that it will pay nearly $8 billion in claims by the time the deadline to file claims is reached on April 22, 2014.

While many of those claims have already been filed, millions have yet to be claimed, and might not ever be claimed.

“I’d say the vast majority of claims have yet to be filed,” said Clayton J. White of Simmons & White LLC, a New Orleans-based law firm licensed to file claims in Louisiana and Alabama. “Many people just don’t know that they have a claim and then, because the process is so complicated, don’t feel that they can take the time to file a claim.”

That’s where White, along with Keith J. Naccari of BP Consultants LLC, also based out of New Orleans, come in. On Friday, the pair were on hand at The Stewart Lodges at Steelwood in Loxley to discuss the Deepwater Horizon Settlement, including upcoming deadlines, essential facts about the settlement, favorable industries and other important information.

“As the CEO of an organization, I’m all about the education process and getting information out to the public,” said Jenny Campbell, CEO of The Stewart Lodges, “so when they contacted us about having this presentation here, I agreed to do it because this is just an information session. They are not pressuring anyone into doing anything. They just want to get the word out.”

On Friday, White and Naccari addressed who is eligible, including businesses that are not directly associated with the fishing, tourism, or petroleum industries and most importantly explained how businesses can determine if you are eligible to receive compensation.

“We’re basically here to simplify the process as much as possible,” White said. “We’re not trying to stick it to BP. We just want everyone to know what their rights are under the law.”

Two sessions were held on Friday, a morning session and an afternoon session, each lasting about an hour with about 20 businesses participating in the consulting process. White and Naccari are planning to hold more consulting sessions in the future, White said.

“We want to keep it to small groups,” he said. “This allows for more one on one consultation.”

White said the one thing that everyone should know about filing a claim is that every business in the state of Alabama, whether or not they were directly affected by the spill or not, is eligible to file a claim.

“If you have a business in the state of Alabama, you need to be looking into this,” he said.

The other main thing people should know is not to wait.

“A year seems like plenty of time, but because of the complicated nature of the claims process, if you have not already started with the claims process, you need to start right away,” he said.

If you would like to learn more about the Deepwater Horizon Settlement claims process, or would like to know about an upcoming session, contact White at cjwhite@simmonswhite.com or Naccari at Keith@BPClaim.net.