Judge OKs jury trials for lawsuits over spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled oil spill cleanup workers who sue BP for medical problems that surface later in life have the right to make their case before a jury.

The BP oil spill medical settlement reached in 2012 was set up to pay cleanup workers and others who experienced certain illnesses during the immediate aftermath of the April 2010 disaster.

NOLA.com/The Times Picayune reports it was designed to keep medical claims out of the courtroom.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier this week said the settlement terms don’t specify whether these so-called “back-end litigation option” cases must be tried before a judge or a jury. If someone wants a jury trial, he said they can ask for one.