BP has lost in its attempt to suspend payments to people and businesses claiming damages related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while an investigator looks into possible misconduct in the payout process.

The British oil company struck a deal to pay damages to victims of the oil spill after the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded in 2010, killing 11 men and wreaking billions of dollars worth of damage to fishing and tourism businesses along the Louisiana coastline.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in 2010. Credit:Reuters

However, the deal opened the floodgates to 10,000 compensation claims a month, costing BP far more than the $US7.8 billion it had expected and leaving it with a battle to try to limit the number of purported victims coming forward.

BP has no control over its payments to claimants. Its open chequebook has spawned an industry of lawyers trawling for businesses and individuals to demand compensation even though they ''suffered no losses,'' BP said.