Protecting What's Right

Mining company Massey Energy, which was subject to civil and criminal investigations after 29 coal miners were killed and two were injured in a 2008 West Virginia mine explosion, has settled with the family of one of the workers.  Government investigators concluded that Steven Cain was crushed to death between the wall of the mine and an underground railroad car during the April 2008 blast.

Virginia-based Massey Energy also operates mines in Virginia and Kentucky.

For the full story, go to the Washington Post.

Congress is considering a bill that would increase fines for worker safety violations in public industry, to strengthen incentives for employers to improve safety on the job.

If passed, the bill will represent the first increase in employer fines since 1990, in spite of increases in the cost of living.  The bill would raise the maximum penalty from $7,000 to $12,000 and the maximum for a “willful” violation–where the employer was indifferent to the legal requirements for employee safety–would increase from $70,000 to $250,000.

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Occupational health specialists are concerned that chronic exposure to chemotherapy drugs by health care workers may cause cancers and other health conditions.  Studies dating back to the 1970s have linked exposure to chemotherapy drugs to an increased rate of certain types of cancers in health workers.  It is believed that such health workers are chronically exposed to chemotherapy drugs through frequent contact with the drugs through mixing them, accidental spills, and other means.

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Imperial Sugar Co. will pay $6 million in fines to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and participate in a three-year, intensive oversight program by the federal agency at its Port Wentworth refinery.

The settlement resolves 124 citations for safety violations after a fire at the Port Wentworth facility killed 14 people and injured several others, as well as 97 citations for violations at the company’s Gramercy, Louisiana site.

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Wal-Mart Stores is fighting a proposed $7,000 fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the trampling death of an employee at a New York Wal-Mart on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, in 2008.

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Testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives field hearing, a former employee of Massey Energy Co. claims that federal mine inspectors are not getting an accurate view of mine conditions on their visits because company foremen are being warned of the inspections beforehand.  The former employee—whose son was one of 29 miners killed in the explosion on April 5^th at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine—reported that, as soon as an inspector from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the word is spread.  He says violations are then quickly corrected, or inspectors are steered away from the problem areas.

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A Senate panel has approved $22 million to help address the huge backlog of mine safety cases in the aftermath of the West Virginia explosion that killed 29 miners in April.

The money would be used to hire more judges and lawyers to resolve the backlog of over 16,000 appeals of mine safety violations.  Companies like Massey Energy Co., the owner of the West Virginia mine where the fatal explosion occurred, have been accused of filing appeals of safety citations in order to delay stronger penalties.

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President Obama’s cancer panel recently warned that Americans are facing serious harm from chemicals in the environment due to lack of adequate regulations and laws.  Current federal laws governing chemicals are weak, and there is inadequate funding to sufficiently regulate the use of chemicals.  Moreover, regulatory responsibilities are split between too many agencies, according to the panel.

Approximately 1.5 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer in 2009; 562,000 Americans died from the disease.  There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental and occupational exposures to chemicals to cancer, with children especially vulnerable to harm.  However, out of the approximately 80,000 chemicals currently sold commercially in the U.S., only about 200 have been reviewed for safety by federal regulators.

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Looking Back at Our Fight for the Second Injury Rule

Several years ago, I  received a phone call from a Houston attorney seeking some documents for an asbestos case he was handling.  Such calls to Baron & Budd are pretty common, given our long track record in asbestos litigation.  As we wrapped up our conversation, he congratulated me on Baron & Budd’s recent win before the Texas Supreme Court in the case of Pustejovsky v. Rapid American Corp., which represented a major victory for asbestos victims throughout the state.  And then he said, with a hint of reverence, AI really appreciate all the work you guys do, and the guts you have to take on tough issues.  Baron & Budd is the trailblazer that the rest of us follow.

His compliment summed up what makes me most proud of Baron & Budd the that the firm is so willing to take on some of the toughest, most forward-looking legal challenges to better protect the rights of everyday Americans.

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