1p21.admin, Author at GUERRA LLP

Federal Investigation Finds Lax Oversight a Factor in Deadly Texas Plant Explosion

Posted on April 22, 2014February 4, 2019 by 1p21.admin

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board released the preliminary findings of its investigation at a news conference this week, just a few days after the anniversary of the West fertilizer plant explosion. Federal investigators determined that a lack of oversight and regulations at the local, state, and federal levels contributed to the deadly fertilizer plant explosion that devastated a rural Texas town last year.

The plant explosion was one of the worst industrial accidents in Texas history.

Officials focused in on how the West Fertilizer Company handled the ammonium nitrate that set off the explosion and the corresponding lack of regulatory oversight. Flammable white pellets of ammonium nitrate were stored in a wooden warehouse in wooden containers, inside of a building without a sprinkler system, which scarily complies with our existing state and federal safety standards.

Ammonium nitrate is stored at over 1,300 American facilities, but there are no restrictions preventing such plants from being located near residential areas. The West, Texas explosion damaged hundreds of the town’s 700 homes.

While no other chemical has caused more widespread harm to the public in preventable accidents than ammonium nitrate, it is not classified as an explosive in the United States.

The explosion at the plant in West killed 14 people, 10 of them firefighters and emergency responders, and at least two others were local volunteers. The death toll constituted the largest number of firefighters to die in the line of duty in Texas at a single episode in nearly 70 years.

The West explosion also wounded more than 200 people and destroyed or damaged a significant portion of local property. One year after April 17, 2013, West continues to rebuild.

Medical Devices for Kids Often Only Tested on Adults

Posted on April 15, 2014 by 1p21.admin

Medical devices have proven useful in the treatment of a variety of diseases, but few of them have been specifically approved for use in children. The 2007 Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act was passed to encourage pediatric device development. Most medical devices approved for pediatric use since the Act was passed were never tested on children, according to a new study. Almost all pediatric medical devices considered had solely been tested on people age 18 and older.

The FDA requires at least one clinical trial that shows a device is safe and effective before approving it for use with patients. But the clinical trials don’t necessarily have to include the same type of patients that will be getting the device in the real world. Many in the medical and scientific community find that devices are under-tested in women, the elderly, and children, with middle-aged white males comprising the majority of study subjects.

The article’s researchers considered 25 FDA-approved medical devices for use in children. Only three of these medical devices were specifically approved for kids under 18. 15 of the 25 devices were not tested on younger patients (under age 18) at all; the rest were approved for 18- to 21-year-olds, considered by the FDA devices center to be pediatric. To make matters worse, devices approved for older children are often used “off-label” in younger children, as there are often no viable alternatives. Only three pediatric medical devices even required post-market testing on children, and none was completed.

Factors that complicate the implantation of medical devices in children can include:

Children are still growing and their bodies will change – devices might need to be changed or replaced as children grow
Children may need to keep the device implanted for longer
One size does not fit all for devices
The smaller size and weight of a child may make it challenging to accommodate some devices
Children and adolescents are at varying stages of activity and development, and are exposed to different environments
Children are prone to falls, bumps and infections as they grow and develop, and this can damage implanted devices

Talk to Your Doctor or Surgeon

Parents should talk to their doctors about any devices recommended for their children, and ask about how safe the product is for use in children and how much evidence there is that the device will be effective. When considering using a device, read the label and talk to your child’s doctor about whether the device is appropriate for your child’s age and size. Another consideration is your child’s ability to tolerate the device for the length of time it may be used. Once implanted, children need to take care to protect their device. Be sure to learn the specific signs of infection to watch for and other safety measures to make certain your child and their device stay safe.

Feds Reach Record Environmental Contamination Settlement with Anadarko

Posted on April 10, 2014 by 1p21.admin

The U.S. Justice Department has reached a record $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for the cleanup of thousands of long-contaminated mining sites nationwide. An estimated $1 billion will go to the Navajo Nation for the cleanup of 50 contaminated mine sites on the country’s largest American Indian reservation in northeastern Arizona.

The settlement resolves a legal battle over Tronox Inc., a spin-off of Kerr-McGee Corp. Anadarko acquired Tronox in 2006. The acquisition made Anadarko financially responsible for the settlement. Kerr-McGee Corp. shifted the liabilities between 2002 and 2006 into Tronox so that the company retained its valuable oil and gas assets. This settlement will also cover damages plus attorney’s fees from a U.S. bankruptcy judge’s decision finding Kerr-McGee improperly shifted its environmental liabilities to Tronox. The federal government decided the settlement amount was more than enough to cover the damages.

Kerr-McGee was founded in 1929 and has a long legacy of environmental contamination. In addition to the radioactive waste damage to the Navajo Nation’s lands, the company polluted Lake Mead in Nevada with rocket fuel and dumped carcinogenic creosote in communities throughout the country’s East, South and Midwest. The federal government accused Kerr-McGee of attempting to pass its responsibility of cleanup onto the United States taxpayers.

The contamination of Navajo lands caused death and disease on the reservation. The mountainous land is used by Navajo medicine men to gather plants and herbs for prayer and healing purposes. Families also use the land for sheep and as an area for summer camps. Uranium waste was thrown over the mountainside and spread by the elements.

The bulk of the settlement, $4.4 billion, will be used to cleanup legacy contamination sites in 22 states.

Kerr-McGee exhibited a blatant lack of concern of the lands they were mining on and the long-term effect on the lands and people of the surrounding communities. PG&E is now facing criminal charges due to their violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act.

If you have been injured by a company’s environmental safety negligence, please contact the lawyers at Watts Guerra.

PG&E Facing Criminal Charges in San Bruno Explosion

Posted on April 7, 2014 by 1p21.admin

PG&E Corp. said it expects to face criminal charges in the 2010 explosion in San Bruno, California that killed eight people. The company is the owner of California’s largest utility. The event was the result of natural gas pipelines exploding.

The expected cause of actions from the U.S. Attorney’s Office include violation of federal regulations on record keeping, pipeline integrity management and identifying threats leading to the explosion and deaths. PG&E says the charges are without merit. The owner of PG&E said the expected charges come after potential settlement discussions with the U.S. Attorney’s Office broke down.

PG&E’s disclosed they would settle all substantial remaining property damage and personal injury claims stemming from the explosion. The company previously stated they face about 160 lawsuits filed on behalf of 500 people and a total possible loss of $600 million. The company also faces a proposed $2.25 billion penalty from California regulators. PG&E contends their employees did not violate the federal Pipeline Safety Act.

PG&E has faced extensive litigation prior to this explosion. The company was responsible for groundwater contamination in the town of Hinkley, California. The groundwater was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, which caused elevated clusters of illnesses within the community. In 1996, the company settled for $333 million, the largest settlement in a direct-action lawsuit in U.S. history.

A series of leaks and fatal explosions across the nation in the past four years has focused attention of how companies are maintaining and replacing their networks of old pipelines. The oil and gas industry has chosen to spin these explosions and leaks as anomalies, not regular occurrences. Oil and gas companies are concerned about these criminal charges tainting the entire industry and the action required to redouble their efforts to show positive business practices.

The companies seem to view these efforts to exhibit positive business practices as a monetary burden rather than a step towards increased public safety.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a pipeline explosion, please contact the lawyers at Watts Guerra.