Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| McClatchy Investigation: Irradiated |  | The hidden legacy of 70 years of atomic weaponry: At least 33,480 Americans dead. For the last year, McClatchy journalists conducted more than 100 interviews across the country and analyzed more than 70 million records in a federal database obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Rob Hotakainen, Lindsay Wise, Frank Matt and Samantha Ehlinger, Miami Herald 12/14/2015    | | Read Article: Miami Herald |
| The Perils of Pantex: Hundreds of Workers Sickened at TX Nuclear Weapons Plant | | Hundreds of Pantex workers have suddenly fallen ill or died at the plant, a vital component in the nationâ??s nuclear weapons program since the 1950s. The federal government has made concessions to a growing number of workers whose Pantex jobs made them sick. Many hundreds have been provided with medical coverage and lump sum payments, under the energy employeesâ?? compensation program, according to records provided to the Star-Telegram by the Labor Department.
YAMIL BERARD, Star Telegram 12/14/2015 | | Read Article: Star Telegram |
| Tyson Foodsâ?? Secret Recipe for Carving Up Workersâ?? Comp | | Using its economic leverage â?? combined with time-honored wining-and-dining and behind-the-scenes arm-twisting â?? Tyson has helped steer legislative changes through several states in the South and Midwest. It has urged officials, often successfully, to remove or appoint workersâ?? comp judges. And the companyâ??s lawyers have crafted novel legal arguments for limiting the rights and benefits of injured workers. Rather than advocating for benefit cuts outright, Tyson has often pushed for subtle changes, such as giving employers more say over medical care, raising workersâ?? burden of proof or limiting the scope of activities judges have deemed work-related.
Michael Grabell, ProPublica 12/14/2015 | | Read Article: ProPublica |
| Holland America Accuses Injury Plaintiff Awarded $22M of Lying | | Holland America Line has accused a man from Illinois who was awarded a $21.5 million verdict in an injury lawsuit of lying, destroying evidence, witness tampering and suborning perjury. The cruise line, based out of Seattle, has asked a federal judge to throw out the large verdict. The lawsuit was filed after the man sustained a head injury when a sliding door on the cruise ship hit him in the head. The injury occurred while the plaintiff was aboard the M/S Amsterdam in November 2011.
Mike Carter, The Seattle Times 12/08/2015 | | Read Article: The Seattle Times |
| Montana Supreme Court to Decide if Railway Injury Lawsuits Will be Heard | | The Montana Supreme Court will be deciding whether it will ban lawsuits by injured railway workers who filed suit in the state even though their lawsuits have nothing to do with Montana. Attorneys for BNSF Railway, who is facing a lawsuit by injured workers, say that a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year changed the way plaintiffs can file suit in states that are not related to the defendants. There are currently 12 such cases pending in the state of Montana that are allowed under a federal law that says a claim can be filed where the defendant is doing business at the time.
Matt Volz, Great Falls Tribune 12/10/2015 | | Read Article: Great Falls Tribune |
| Father of Girl Injured by Foul Ball Adds MLB to Lawsuit | | The father of a young girl who suffered injuries when a foul ball hit her at an Atlanta Braves baseball game has added Major League Baseball as a defendant. The league was added to the lawsuit even though it is currently recommending extensions to safety netting at all 30 ballparks next year. The 6-year-old girl was hit in the head by a foul ball at a game at Turner Filed in August 2010. The foul ball fractured the girl's skull in 30 places and caused traumatic brain injury. The baseball league stated on Wednesday that it is encouraging fields to put up netting to protect more fans from foul balls.
Bill Rankin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution 12/09/2015 | | Read Article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
| Okla. Energy Companies Seek Earthquake Lawsuit Dismissal | | Two energy companies are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a woman who was injured during an earthquake. The lawsuit was filed by an Oklahoma woman who was injured when an earthquake caused her house to crumble on top of her. The lawsuit alleges that Spess Oil Co. and New Dominion LLC are liable for the woman's injuries because wastewater disposal wells that they created triggered the earthquake. The two energy companies asked a judge on Wednesday to throw out the lawsuit because the plaintiff waited too long to file it.
Justin Juozapavicius, Claims Journal 12/14/2015 | | Read Article: Claims Journal |
| Jury Awards $5.4M to Couple After Finding Fraud in Foreclosure Case | | | David and Mary Ellen Wolf were several payments behind on their home mortgage and knew that foreclosure loomed. They were puzzled, though, when a foreclosure notice came early in 2011 from Wells Fargo because they hadn't done business with that bank. The Wolf's argued neither Wells Fargo nor its mortgage servicer, Carrington Mortgage Services, had legal claim to the note on the house or the right to foreclose. A state district court jury in Harris County agreed last month and awarded the Wolfs $5.4 million after a four-day trial.
L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle 12/09/2015
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| Wounded Officers' Lawsuit Against Badger Guns Settles for $1M | | The landmark case won by two wounded Milwaukee police officers against Badger Guns has been settled for $1million. The settlement was unexpected and eliminates what was expected to be a yearslong appeal. In a first-of-its-kind verdict that was noted nationwide, a jury in October found that Badger Guns and its owner broke federal laws and negligently sold the gun used to injure the officers to a straw buyer â?? someone buying a gun for someone who cannot legally purchase one. At the time, jurors awarded Officer Bryan Norberg and former officer Graham Kunisch nearly $6 million in health care costs and lost wages, pain and suffering and punitive damages.
John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 12/14/2015 | | Read Article: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Amazon Stops Selling Some Hoverboards Over Safety | | Leading hoverboard maker Swagway confirmed the online retailer Amazon is requesting companies manufacturing the popular devices to prove they are safe to use. The removal of hoverboards follow growing concerns over whether the devices -- arguably the hottest holiday gift -- don't present serious safety issues. The Consumer Product Safety Commission tells NBC News it's investigating at least 10 reports of fires related to hoverboards.
Brett Molina, USA Today 12/14/2015 | | Read Article: USA Today |
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