Photo by Kathy Anderson.

Thousands of moderate-income claimants are seeking compensation from the complicated and adversarial BP settlement process constructed in March, the second large-scale effort to provide restitution to those affected by the huge marine oil spill. For many, compensation is obstructed by a patchwork of legal aid and social service providers faced with cutthroat competition for funds, a growing distrust of the private bar, complicated court rules and prohibitive costs.