Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Earlier this month, 16 communities on the coast of South Carolina filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court against the Trump administration. The case was filed in response to permits that were issued to allow the exploration for natural gas an oil. On Thursday, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced that nine states are joining the lawsuit. Why Are the States Against Offshore ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin, LLP
Arnold & Itkin filed suit in Dutchess County, New York on behalf of a Jones Act seaman injured on the Hudson River. The employer responsible for the work accident refused to provide our client access to the medical treatment he needs for his injuries. It is the employers’ responsibility to ensure that he receives the medical treatment and compensation he needs. Under the Jones Act, employers are ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration maintains a set of standards that govern the use of flame-resistant clothing in American workplaces. Though not always cheap, flame-resistant clothing is crucial safety equipment for offshore workers. Offshore workers face workplace risks every day, and their clothes could be a life-saving factor when accidents occur. Flame-Resistant Clothing & ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon erupted into flames after repeated neglect caused the offshore oil rig to explode. The disaster claimed the lives of 11 workers and injured 17 more. The well beneath the rig leaked for months and polluted the Gulf of Mexico with over 4.9 million barrels of oil. It was the worst oil spill in history—at least it was at the time. The Taylor oil spill, which started 6 ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
The Corporate Giants that Control the World’s Oil Production Energy is one of the largest business sectors in the world. In the United States, oil companies such as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company became notorious for their power and influence over the American economy. Today, Rockefeller’s name is synonymous with might and wealth in the business world. Today, energy is a globalized ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
In August, the Bureau of Transportation Safety released its annual Blowout Prevention System Safety (BPSS) report. The report is a component of the SafeOCS program, a joint effort by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. SafeOCS enables workers to report information on the offshore industry. As a result, the program gathers, aggregates, and ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Attorneys Kurt Arnold, Kyle Findley, Kala Sellers, and Adam Lewis filed suit today against an offshore drilling company on behalf of a Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured when he was attacked by a coworker. Our client was struck in the face with a pole by a co-worker who lost his temper without reason. To compound matters, the defendant company conducted an inadequate investigation ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Last Thursday, the White House eased safety rules for offshore drilling rigs created after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The administration claimed that loosening regulations will provide a boost in energy production. The initial regulations were originally put in place by the Obama administration in 2016. The reversal to the rules will be effective on December 27, 2018. The regulations ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
At Arnold & Itkin, our offshore injury attorneys highlight the importance of eliminating negligence on the part of employers and ship owners in the maritime industry. Doing this provides a safe environment for the thousands of offshore workers and passengers that utilize seagoing vessels daily. Examining the following maritime accidents reveals the importance of accountability and reveals how ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Since 1920, the Merchant Marine Act has served to protect workers on vessels traveling between American ports. Also known as the Jones Act, it provides protections to Americans working on ships normally provided to US workers on land. As a whole, the law was designed to bolster American trade. Besides protecting offshore workers from employer negligence, this law introduced several restrictions on ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin filed suit on behalf of a contractor severely burned in a fire at the John Bludworth shipyard in Corpus Christi, Texas. An electrical box that had previously had problems caught fire again and burned the worker over several parts of his body and required a lengthy hospital stay. Burn injuries are some of the costliest injuries any person can suffer. Between weeks of hospitalization, ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Recently, our blog comprehensively covered Bouchard Transportation's safety record —their history of ignoring serious vapor leaks, their culture of secrecy, and their high turnover rate that kept problems from being solved conclusively. All of these problems contributed to the barge explosion last October that killed two men. Our firm is representing the family of one of the men who died that ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Over the last two weeks, we posted two blogs regarding a barge that exploded near Port Aransas, taking the lives of two men. In the first blog, we discussed the beginning of the Coast Guard’s hearing regarding the incident, and then we explored the heartbreaking eyewitness testimony that emerged during the trial’s first week. This week, our law firm assisted the family of Jackson as we continued ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
On October 20, ship engineer Timothy Lerette and a co-worker sailed into the dark waters of the Gulf to find his crewmates. He saw a lifejacket floating a short distance from the Bouchard-owned oil barge they worked on. He knew who it was: Du'jour Vanterpool, 26, one of two crewmembers working on the deck that night. He was dead. "We tried to retrieve him but he slipped out of his life jacket and ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP Jones Act lawyers Kurt Arnold, Kala Sellers, and Adam Lewis recently filed suit on behalf of a Texas offshore worker who was injured on the job. While performing his duties as instructed, the client was crushed by a large metal tile. This incident caused severe injuries that needed spinal surgery and will require ongoing medical care. Offshore work is an inherently dangerous job ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Last October, a fatal barge explosion occurred off the Port Aransas coast, killing two men. While one man’s body was found several days after the tragic incident, the second still has not be found. On November 2, our law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the presumed-dead sailor’s family. In that suit, we claimed that the company for which the decedent worked (Bouchard Transportation Company) had ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP filed a new lawsuit today on behalf of an offshore oil rig worker who was struck by a piece of wire rope while working aboard the Noble Clyde Bordeaux. He sustained serious injuries to his face, jaw, and other parts of his body. The young man required emergency surgery to address his injuries, which were caused by the Defendants’ conduct and the unseaworthy condition of the ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
After Years of Fighting, Injured Worker Sees Hope Our firm celebrates with an offshore worker who received justice as a result of an appeal. Earlier this week, a Texas appellate panel reinstated our client's $1,700,000 award against his employer. Our client was stripped of his rightful compensation when a lower court wrongfully categorized him as a "borrowed worker," barring his claims. In a 2-1 ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a family who lost a loving husband and father in a tragic, but preventable, incident. Our client's loved one was working onboard a vessel off the coast of Angola when he suffered a massive heart attack. Sadly, he was unable to receive medical attention quickly enough to save him. Our offshore wrongful death lawyers have filed suit against ...
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There are two components to worker safety on offshore drilling projects: personal safety and process safety. Personal safety obliges workers to be cautious and careful when performing their job duties. Process safety obliges supervisors and companies to manage the hazards that cause major accidents. Most of the time, these hazards involve the release of toxic or hazardous materials, the release of ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Despite being built to withstand the ocean's fury, hurricanes can be disastrous for oil rigs and offshore oil platforms. In the Gulf of Mexico alone, the industry relies on hundreds of rigs to shrug off the disastrous effects of multiple hurricanes every season. To compensate for the great strain put on these rigs by hurricanes, supervisors must follow strict processes and safety procedures to ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Yesterday we published a blog talking about the USS McCain accident of August 2017, which led to the deaths of 10 U.S. sailors off the coast of Singapore. The incident is back in the news as 10 families bring lawsuits against the owners of the Alnic, the merchant tanker that collided with the McCain. Our very own Cory Itkin represents 9 of the 10 families. Today, we round up the most notable ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Last August, the USS John McCain lost steering and veered into the path of a merchant tanker, the Alnic, off the coast of Singapore. The collision between the two ships led to the deaths of 10 US sailors. Now, the sailors' families are taking legal action against the tanker ship that killed their loved ones. What has complicated the situation is the release of two reports, each of which finds ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin filed suit on behalf of a Mississippi River seaman who was injured because his vessel had a trap-door manhole cover. Our client stepped on it without realizing, causing a serious fall. He suffered injuries to his shoulder, arm, and other parts of his body. Injuries like this are more than an inconvenience. As a Chief Engineer, he was able to provide for his family of four before the ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of a hardworking seaman who contracted a life-threatening respiratory illness two times while working aboard a cargo ship—the APL PHILLIPINES—out of Los Angeles, CA. Arnold & Itkin has filed suit against the ship’s owner and operator, both of whom owed our client a safe working environment free from toxic pathogens. In a context where most people are ...
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