Houston, TX Metro/Personal Injury Blog

On June 29, 2010, Doyle Raizner filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dennis Long against the worker's compensation carrier, State Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, and the thirty party administrator, AIG Claims, for their wrongful denial of his medical and income benefits after a clear on-the-job injury.  With no legitimate basis, these insurance companies took the position that Mr. Long's injuries were not caused by falling off a ladder, even though an eyewitness issued a written statement confirming the incident.  State Insurance Company of Pennsylvania and AIG Claims admitted they were absolutely wrong for their denials many months after the wrongful conduct and only after Mr. Long hired an attorney.  Unfortunately this delay period caused significant harm to Mr. Long for which he is still fighting to recover.

To add real further insult and independent damages to this injury, Mr. Long's employer, Hitech Fire Detection, retaliated against him for filing his worker's compensation claim and terminated him and his benefits.  This wrongful termination is direct violation of Texas Law and Doyle Raizner represents Mr. Long against Hitech in pursuing this wrongful retaliation claim as well.

Doyle Raizner is proud to represent Dennis Long against these insurance companies and employer in pursuing justice for this violative conduct.

In September 2008, Galveston and much of the Texas coast was hit by Hurricane Ike. According to estimates, more than 3 million people were without power in the greater Houston area, as nearly the entire city was without electricity. Closer to Louisiana, in Orange, Texas, the flood waters rose so quickly that people were forced to evacuate to upper floors, attics and rooftops for safety.

In spite of the recovery that followed, a deadline is fast approaching that many of those affected by Hurricane Ike should be aware of. In Texas, the law provides for a two-year statute of limitations for bad faith insurance claims. For victims of Hurricane Ike, the new battle is not with the rain, wind and water, but with the insurance industry. As sometimes happens, insurance companies occasionally delay their claims investigations, hoping to withhold payment for as long as possible. In some instances this takes years. In Texas, if payments have not been made during the two-year period, there is no guarantee after that point that payment will be made.

If you or someone you know is involved in an insurance claim and the insurance company is dragging its feet, you need to see a lawyer to make a bad faith claim. This needs to be done before September to ensure that your claim has a fair chance at being extended past the two-year window. Should you not make this claim, your insurance company is under no legal obligation to work with you. Should you make a bad faith claim, however, you are allowed to present evidence that the insurance company is acting in bad faith in failing to process your insurance claim in a timely manner.

If you believe you are in such a situation, be sure to visit an attorney familiar with insurance law. The lawyer will review your situation and advise you of the best course of action.

Since late April, when the Deepwater Horizon suffered an explosion killing 11 and sinking the oil rig, BP has employed various strategies to stop oil from leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. None of those efforts have stopped the oil, which is now thought to be leaking at the rate of about 15,000 barrels per day. The most recent estimates are much higher than the 1,000 barrels per day originally suggested.

While the numbers are not certain, it is estimated that 20 to 30 million gallons have already leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. The wildlife, shipping industry, beaches and ecosystem of the southwest coasts of the United States are at risk of severe and permanent damage. To put that amount of oil into context, approximately 11 million gallons of oil were spilled during the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.

BP's first attempt to stop the leak was to cap the well with a four-story dome. Engineers attempted to install the dome 5,000 feet below the surface, but were unable to achieve their goal due to the depths of the water. Next, BP tried a "junk shot," which involved shooting garbage and debris into the well to clog it and stop the leak. The junk shot, along with a second cap, were also unsuccessful.

The most recent attempt to cap the leaking well is called a top kill maneuver. This involves pumping a very thick drilling fluid into the well to plug it. Unfortunately, this method has not worked, either. The next step will be to attempt to cap the well once again, now that a riser pipe has been cut and severed from the well.

Of the statements made by oil company executives and politicians in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon offshore disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, perhaps one stands out above others: Texas Gov. Rick Perry's declaration that the catastrophic oil spill may be due to "an act of God."

When executives from the three companies most deeply mired in the problem of the Gulf testified before Congress in May, they pointed fingers at each other. Officials from BP, Halliburton and Transocean all tried to lay blame for the worst oil spill in U.S. history on one another.

BP leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig from Transocean Ltd. for exploratory drilling about 50 miles southeast of Venice, LA. BP executives say Transocean's rig and its blowout protector failed, causing an explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed an unstoppable gusher of oil one mile deep underwater.

Transocean points back to BP, saying the blame belongs with the operator of the rig.

Transocean executives also point at Halliburton, Inc., a BP subcontractor, which is alleged to have had the responsibility of encasing the well pipe in cement before plugging it.

Unsurprisingly, Halliburton executives say they were acting on BP's orders and therefore the blame belongs with the company formerly known as British Petroleum.

It's expected that all three companies will hedge against taking full responsibility -- and legal liability -- for the deaths, injuries and environmental damage caused by the unprecedented offshore oil rig disaster.

The reality of who will bear liability for the widespread damage to people, the environment, wildlife and Gulf industries will be determined in courts. In court the question of gross negligence as the cause of the April 20 explosion will be determined.

One thing we know for sure at this point is that there were no hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons or earthquakes anywhere near the Deepwater Horizon that day. As much as apologists for BP and the other involved companies might wish for it to be so, the "act of God" defense is not viable.

Today, New Orleans federal judge Martin Feldman blocked enforcement of a sixth month moratorium placed on deep water drilling, meaning drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet.  Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion that resulted to one of the worst oil spill in US history, President Barack Obama banned any deepwater drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico for a period of six (6) months.  The White House has said it will appeal the decision.

The objective was to give government time to review the rules and lapses of such wells.   Mr. Obama said during a nationwide address that he wants to hear a national panel's recommendations to improve worker safety and environmental protections before the moratorium is lifted.  He also wants to understand the circumstances that led to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

However, securities firm Raymond James & Associates issued a bold forecast that the moratorium could last into 2011. If this scenario happens, around 50,000 rig and associated jobs will be in great peril.  Entire communities that depend on deepwater drilling could likewise be devastated.  Aside from that, many of the oil rigs affected by the moratorium could go elsewhere to drill oil endangering 800 to 1,400 jobs per rig.  There were 33 permitted deepwater  drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico region prior to the moratorium.

Governor Jindal says that Mr. Obama doesn't understand the "economic pain the forced stoppage is causing to Louisiana workers."  Louisiana is one of the gulf states seriously affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Now, it is facing imminent unemployment of an estimated 330,000 people  in said state alone if the moratorium continues.

In addition, oil industry executives during the recent World National Oil Companies Congress in London showed harsh disapproval of the Obama imposed six-month moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico because according to them, "the world did not have enough other sources of oil to eliminate using deepsea rigs."

It must be noted that 33 percent of the US nation's domestic oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico.  Eighty percent of the Gulf's oil and 45 percent of its natural gas comes from operations in more than 1,000 feet of water  or deepwater.

Instead of the mandatory ban of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico,  leading industry experts proposed the following alternatives that federal regulators could undertake, including:

·       Re-certifying all BOP equipment used in floating drilling operations and ensure their suitability for the rig and well design.

·       Ensuring rig personnel are trained to industry- and government-accepted standards for well-control procedures;

·       Reviewing operator well plans, with particular emphasis on casing and cementing designs to ensure sufficient pressure barriers and that designs are fit for             their purpose.

The move to put in place a moratorium underscores the frustration across the Gulf Coast and the nation with the conduct of BP and of the entire oil exploration and production industry.  BP and its industry colleagues have been operating without a safety net, with little to no ability to address any type of deep water well disaster.  They have put the Gulf Coast in the untenable position President Obama was trying to address with the moratorium:  if drilling stops until the drilling industry can demonstrate it can operate in deep water safely, the Gulf economy would take an enormous hit in already challenging economic times; but if drilling continues, we remain at risk for another deep water disaster.  The costs of the deep water moratorium are high - likely too high for our community right now.  But make no mistake, the fault and responsibility for this dilemma doesn't rest with the White House, but with BP and the entire oil exploration and production industry for creating these enormous risks and devastating consequences.

Yesterday, The Daily Express published an article on the suit against KBR by British servicemen, including RAF Sgt. Andy Tosh and his fellow gunners from 26 Squadron.  These soldiers were exposed to hexavalent chromium at KBR's Qarmat Ali facility in Southern Iraq.  You can read the article at this link: Daily Express article

On Friday, June 18, 2010, Administrative Judge Al Bennett conducted a hearing concerning a possible consolidation of commercial Hurricane Ike cases into a special docket.  All residential Ike cases have been consolidated into a special docket before Judge Mike Miller, and a similar proposal is under consideration for commercial cases.

Kimberley Soukup is a licensed workers' compensation adjuster who takes her responsibilities to injured workers under Texas law seriously.  Unfortunately, her determination to adhere to the laws intended to assure fair administration of workers' compensation claims got her in hot water with her employer, third-party administrator Sedgwick Claims Management. 

After ten years in the industry, Ms. Soukup was forced out of her position with Sedgwick after she repeatedly resisted pressure from Sedgwick and large, self-insured client Bridgestone to engage in illegal claims adjusting practices for the purpose of making sure Bridgestone paid as little as possible in benefits owed to injured workers.  Among other things, Ms. Soukup was asked to participate in sending workers' compensation claimants' medical records to an unlicensed physician for the purpose of trumping up bases for denial of necessary benefits, to set inadequate claim reserve amounts in order to block payments due for claims, and to give deposition testimony concealing key information from discovery in a workers' compensation matter.

Doyle Raizner LLP filed suit on Ms. Soukup's behalf in Harris County District Court, seeking damages for Ms. Soukup's wrongful termination under the Texas Supreme Court's Sabine Pilot doctrine, which provides an exception to Texas's at-will employment doctrine for employees terminated for refusal to commit an illegal act.  The case is set to go before Judge Al Bennett.