Texas Injury Law Blog : Dallas Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death : Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Texas

A rodeo worker in Wheeler, a Texas panhandle town northeast of Amarillo, died this week after horses stampeded over him. The worker, just 24 year-old, was moving horses to the bucking shoot when the animals became spooked, turned abruptly, knocked down the worker, causing severe injuries.

Were the rodeo facilities safe? Was the worker properly trained and supervised? Had the horses been inspected and vaccinated in compliance with Texas law? These are the kind of questions an injured worker ought to ask. They’re the kind of questions the personal injury experts at Fears | Nachawati ask every day.

Don’t let the law or your employer intimate you! If you’ve been in a work-related accident, there are questions you should ask to find out if your employer shares any responsibility for the injuries you’ve sustained. Want to know more? Give us a call at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. We’re ready to help you!

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The Houston Astros are for sale, and if you, like Jim Crane, have several hundred million dollars, you can own the famed team. However, if your company has a history of employment discrimination, you might want to avoid the limelight. (Unfortunately for Mr. Crane, that’s a lesson he didn’t heed.)

In 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigated Mr. Crane’s company, Eagle Global Logistics, for its failure to promote blacks, Hispanics, and women into managerial positions. In fact, the EEOC further found that Eagle demoted women from managerial positions, fostered a hostile work environment and perpetuated a pay disparity between minorities and whites based on race and sex.

Employment discrimination is unfair to workers and their families. Moreover, it’s against the law. If you think you’re the victim of employment discrimination, you should consider having a conversation with the experts at Fears | Nachawati. The consultation is free and you’ll learn everything you need to know about whether to prosecute your claim. We can help you! Just call 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. 

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 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew a rule recently that required employers to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders – like carpel tunnel syndrome – on a separate column on injury logs. OSHA’s decision comes in spite of the fact that, as OSHA Administrator David Michaels himself explained, “Work-related musculoskeletal disorders remain the leading cause of workplace injury and illness in this country.”

OSHA’s rule retraction limits the available remedies to injured workers. However, other viable venues exist for a redress of grievance. If you’ve sustained a workplace injury contact the injury experts at Fears | Nachawati. We know how to secure the compensation you deserve. Call us at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. 

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A woman died from injuries sustained after being thrown from a pickup truck bed in Arlington.  The woman, Amy Joette Wheat, 38, was an employee of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and was riding in the back of a government truck when she was apparently thrown into a light pole in the 4800 block of Belt Line Road.  Wheat's co-workers attempted to transport her to a hospital, but she died en route. 

If you have been injured in an accident, the attorneys of Fears | Nachawati are here to help you protect and enforce your legal rights.  Call us today to discuss how we can serve you.  1.866.705.7584.

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A fire at LyondellBasell's oil refinery on the Houston ship channel broke out yesterday afternoon.  The blaze, which started in a crude distillation unit, sent huge plumes of black smoke into the air.  The fire burned for more than an hour

Two firefighters were injured while fighting the fire, suffering heat exhaustion. 

The refinery is the country's 16th largest, and refines 268,000 barrels of oil per day.  An incident in July 2008 at the facility involving a crane killed four workers. 

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire and continue to assess the extent of damage to the refinery. 

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Recent DFW Metroplex news includes stories of three recent on-the-job fatalities:

A 30 year old man working as a subcontractor for Tarrant County was electrocuted Tuesday.  The man was working to repair light fixtures in the mechanical room on the top of the Plaza Garage, located at the intersection of West Weatherford and Burnett streets.  Fort Worth paramedics and MedStar attempted to save the worker, but their attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.  The man was pronounced dead at the scene.  Authorities are investigating this on-the-job death. 

A lawn maintenance worker was killed Tuesday morning in Grand Prairie after he was struck by a passing motorist.  The man, Fransisco Lara, 35, was taken by helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  Mr. Lara was struck by a car while he was using a leaf blower to clear debris from the street.  The driver was not injured.  Authorities are investigating this accident.

The body of Roderick Terrell, a Dallas sanitation worker, was found Tuesday at the McCommas Bluff Landfill in Dallas.  Mr. Terrell was on the job at the landfill when he was last seen.  Coworkers found Mr. Terrell's truck, still running, and began searching for him shortly thereafter.  His body was found the next day.  Authorities are investigating the cause of Mr. Terrell's death. 

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An 18-wheeler being loaded with fuel exploded yesterday at a refinery in San Antonio.  The tanker truck was at the AGE Refining Inc. fueling station when the incident occurred.  The initial explosion set off a chain-reaction of several smaller explosions.  Firefighters worked for six hours battling the blaze, shutting off valves and cooling down tanks in an effort to prevent the fires from spreading. 

One man was critically burned in the incident, while numerous workers at the refinery were also injured. 

Residents living near the refinery were evacuated.  The explosions and fires sent a plume of black smoke over San Antonio's east side that lasted for much of the day while the fires burned themselves out.  Smoke was visible up to 40 miles away. 

Investigators do not yet know what caused the blast. 

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Two men injured in the May 2^nd collapse of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility have filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, including pain and suffering, against a number of defendants involved in the construction of the facility. The Dallas Cowboys are not amongst the defendants named in the lawsuit.

The victims bringing the Texas personal injury lawsuit are special teams coach Joe DeCamillis and scouting aid Rich Behm. DeCamillis suffered a broken neck, and Behm was paralyzed from the waist down.

The Texas lawsuit accuses some of the defendants of conspiracy. According to allegations made in the suit, these defendants knew for at least two years that the facility was unsafe but covered up this fact. It also accuses the defendants of negligence.

Defendants named in the lawsuit include: Cover-All Building Systems, the designer-manufacturer of the facility, which is based in Canada; Wrangler Concrete Construction, which laid the facility’s foundation; Pennsylvania-based Summit Structures, a subsidiary of Cover-All; and JCI, a Las Vegas consulting firm.

To read more about the Texas personal injury lawsuit over the collapsed Dallas Cowboys facility, click here for the complete story.

Fears | Nachawati is a Texas personal injury law firm that represents accident victims in pursuing legal claims against the responsible party. To receive free legal assistance from one of our Texas personal injury lawyers, email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us on our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584 for a free consultation.

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Every day in the United States, workers are injured while on the job. Sadly, the number of injuries – and fatalities – is far higher for those working in the construction industry. In fact, in 2004, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that the construction industry has the second highest number of fatalities of all industries in the U.S. The study also revealed that construction workers have a higher-than-average number of days off from work due to illness or injury.

Other studies have indicated that one out of every ten construction workers will be injured on the job at some point during their career.

The stakes are even higher for construction workers in Texas. Since 1992, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas has ranked either first or second in the number of workplace injuries per year – construction site accidents accounted for the largest number of those injuries. In 2004, for instance, Texas was in second place with 114 fatalities in the construction sector.

Other shocking statistics related to construction site accidents include:

·         Research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showed that, in 2007, construction accidents caused the highest number of fatalities of any industry.

·         In 2007, over 1,100 construction-related fatalities were reported.

·         Falls are the most common cause of fatal construction site accidents.

·         After falls, transportation accidents, falling objects and electrocution are the most common causes of construction-related deaths, respectively.

·         Of all workers compensation costs across the country, 15% are due to construction site accidents.

As these statistics show, the construction industry is a highly dangerous occupation that puts workers at serious risk of suffering an on-the-job injury. If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction site accident, contact us today.

The Texas personal injury lawyers of Fears | Nachawati provide free legal advice to victims of construction site injuries. Simply email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us on our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584.

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One person is dead after a three-vehicle car accident in Amarillo, Texas.

The accident occurred when a Nissan XTerra, which was traveling northbound on Coulter, crossed the turning lane, striking the back-end of a Buick LeSabre in the southbound lane.

After striking the Buick, the XTerra then hit a Ford Mustang, also in the southbound lane, on the passenger’s side. The driver of the Mustang, 29-year-old Pedro Serrano, died from the injuries he sustained in the accident.

The driver of the XTerra, 18-year-old Cameron Meyers, suffered non-life threatening injuries for which he is still being treated. The driver of the Buick was unharmed.

The accident remains under investigation, with charges against Meyers pending.

To read the complete article on this Texas car accident, click here.

If you have been injured in a car accident, contact us at Fears | Nachawati today for a free consultation with a Texas personal injury attorney. You can reach us by email at info@fnlawfirm.com or by phone at 1.866.705.7584.

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