Area residents line up outside the injury attorney offices of R. Nicholas Haney in Richmond, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, to pick up a claim form in response to the Chevron refinery fire that impacted the community. Investigators are waiting for access to the charred crude oil unit of a Chevron refinery where a fire sent a towering plume of black smoke into San Francisco Bay area skies and pushed gas prices higher along the West Coast. Hundreds of people went to hospitals with respiratory issues during the fire at the Richmond refinery that produces 16 percent of the region's daily gasoline supply. (AP Photo/Bay Area News Group, Laura A. Oda) MANDATORY CREDIT

1,000-plus file claims against Chevron after refinery fire

ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHMOND — More than 1,000 people blaming this week's California refinery fire for sore throats and other ailments are asking an attorney to help them get a payout for their suffering from Chevron Corp.

Another 1,000 people that contacted Chevron directly are being helped at a downtown Richmond storefront set up by the San Ramon-based petroleum company.

The San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/NKcm6b ) reports attorney Nick Haney posted a sign two days after Monday's smoky refinery blaze that reads "File Chevron Claims Here."

More than 1,000 people lured by the promise of a few hundred dollars showed up on Wednesday.

They are complaining of coughs, nausea, scratchy throats and psychological trauma.

Haney's five assistants were on the sidewalk asking people to fill out paperwork and show proof they had seen a doctor.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com

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