Year: 2013
Five workers were injured in an oil rig accident near Alexander, North Dakota on July 16, 2013. According to news reports, investigators believe the oil rig accident occurred when employees removed a cover from an oil fuel tank and an electric drill ignited the fumes, causing an explosion. One worker,…
Local residents in Frio County, Texas have expressed concerns about the possibility of Eagle Ford disposal wells contaminating their groundwater, so much so that Frio County Commissioners recently held a town hall meeting in Dilley to discuss the injection wells. The main issue, residents said, was awareness. With only a…
A July 7, 2013, explosion at a natural gas well fracking site in West Virginia injured several workers, including five contract workers who suffered serious burn injuries and remain hospitalized. Only months before, an explosion at another WV natural gas facility injured three workers, two of whom died from their…
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s removal of nearly two thousand unsafe commercial vehicles from our roadways last month during a three-day annual inspection highlights an alarming fact – there are a LOT of unsafe 18 wheelers, buses and other commercial motor vehicles (CMV) traveling Texas roads. Before Roadcheck 2013…
Two more oilfield workers were killed on the job in Texas last week, both in Howard County and residents of Big Spring. On Thursday, June 20, Juan Manual Estrada-Duarte, 59, died after a large heat treat rolled onto him. Only 24 hours earlier a drilling rig collapse had taken the…
Concerns about abandoned oil wells contaminating groundwater in Texas are not new, but a boom in oil and gas drilling and increased use of the hydraulic fracturing process have raised the odds of contamination occurring. In addition to groundwater contamination, abandoned wells can provide a pathway for dangerous contaminates to…
Insurance coverage is supposed to provide the policyholder with a feeling of safety and security. People buy insurance for protection against risk that could otherwise be financially devastating. And we expect that the insurance company will hold up its end of the bargain when catastrophe happens and a claim must be…
If you are wondering how many people suffer fatal car crashes caused by cell phone use each year, or if an increase in driver cell phone use has caused a jump in fatal auto accidents, you won’t find an accurate answer. No one knows. Various factors, including drivers not admitting…
Reports of Fatal Contract Worker Injuries Prompt OSHA Initiative According to data recently released on fatal work injuries, Texas had the highest number of contract workers killed on the job in 2011. In just that year, 56 contract workers died from on-the-job injuries in our state. The Bureau of Labor…
The Callahan Law Firm extends its deepest sympathy to all suffering from the West, Texas plant explosion. A deadly Texas plant explosion devastating the town of West killed at least 14 people, many of them volunteer firefighters, injured about 200 others, and destroyed homes within a four-to-five block radius of…
