Mark Your Calendar! | The TTLA Annual Conference will be held June 11-13 at the Sheraton Hotel in Austin. More information coming soon. |
Jury Awards $4.6M to Family of Truck Driver | 
| A state district court jury awarded an El Paso-area family $4.6 million in a lawsuit against three trucking companies, finding the companies responsible for a fiery crash in 2010 in which two men were killed. Lorenzo Muñoz and Roger Franceware died after the 18-wheeler they were traveling in crashed into a cement pillar and concrete embankment on Interstate 20 in Mitchell County, TX. The truck then caught fire. On Thursday, a jury in the 168th District Court reached its verdict in a suit filed by Muñoz's family against Moore Freight Service Inc., XMex Transport LLC, and Trans Front Inc. The lawsuit claimed Muñoz, who was driving the 18-wheeler, and Franceware were given an unreasonable schedule that forced Muñoz to drive even though he was tired.
Adriana M. Chávez, El Paso Times 04/14/2014    | Read Article: El Paso Times |
Compensation Lawsuit Against NCAA Set for Trial |
| A lawsuit against the NCAA regarding the use of college athletes' names and likenesses is now set to go to trial. Last Friday, a federal judge cleared the way for the trial which will determine if the NCAA's limits on student athletes' compensation will remain in effect. Players, such as the lead plaintiff (a former UCLA basketball player), hope the ruling will revoke "the limits on what Bowl Subdivision football and Division I men's basketball players can receive as compensation in exchange for playing sports." The case is set to go to trial on June 9.
Steve Berkowitz, USA Today 04/12/2014 | Read Article: USA Today |
Texas Supreme Court Again Tackles Tort Law | | The Texas Supreme Court is being asked to determine if Texans are unfairly harmed by a tort-reform law that strictly bans medical malpractice lawsuits filed more than 10 years after an injury. A new case asks the court to determine whether a 14-year-old girl, born with severe brain damage, can sue her El Paso doctor and hospital over injuries from her birth. The doctor and hospital say the lawsuit must be thrown out because it was filed 14 years after the alleged injury, or four years too late. The statute of repose contains no exceptions, they argue. But lawyers for the girl, Madeline Rodriguez, argue that dismissing the lawsuit would violate the teen’s right of access to the courts as guaranteed by the Texas Constitution. The court also must decide if it is fair to retroactively apply the statute of repose, passed in 2003, to an alleged injury that occurred in 1996. The court has no deadline to issue an opinion in Tenet Hospitals v. Rivera, 13-0096.
Chuck Lindell, Austin American Statesman 04/14/2014 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
Railroad Company Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit |
| Railroad company CSX is seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against them over the train death of a West Virginia teenager in 2012. The 16-year-old boy was killed when he was hit by a train on his way home from school. The lawsuit, filed by the boy's father, alleges that "there weren't enough warnings to prevent pedestrians from walking along the tracks." The lawsuit was filed against CSX, the city of Hurricane and the Putnam County Board of Education.
Wire Report, Houston Chronicle 04/14/2014 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Industry Opposes Push to Tighten Oil Field Safety Rules |
| More than a dozen oil companies and trade groups have lined up to oppose plans to broaden the federal government's oversight of safety practices at wells, saying existing standards are enough to protect workers nationwide. Both the Chemical Safety Board and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are asking for strengthened safety regulations. The agencies have studied oil field fatalities over the past decade, warning repeatedly that many of the industry's fatal accidents are preventable. A recent Houston Chronicle investigation uncovered significant deficiencies in regulators' oversight of onshore oil and gas activities, including a lack of government inquiries into non-fatal accidents that leave workers permanently injured.
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Houston Chronicle 04/14/2014 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Texas Remains Wary of Regulation After West |
| A year after the blast killed 15 people and injured hundreds, Texas lawmakers have yet to propose or put into action any major reforms in an attempt to prevent future industrial accidents, whether it's at a small, rural fertilizer retailer or a petrochemical plant along the Houston Ship Channel. Key state lawmakers say changes are coming, but any new regulations likely will be tailored to improve safety at the 82 facilities permitted to store and sell ammonium nitrate, the nitrogen-rich compound that was involved in the devastating blast. It's unlikely the yet-unseen agenda will involve sweeping legislation that alters the handling of hazardous materials at all chemical plants.
Matthew Tresaugue and Dug Begley, Houston Chronicle 04/14/2014 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
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