The Media Is Missing Serious Accidents: What Is to Be Done?
In the course of litigating cases over the last few years, my staff and I have incidentally come across more and more crashes that the news media isn't reporting on. These aren't just minor fender benders, but major crashes where people died or suffered serious injuries due to commercial vehicles or drunk drivers. That's not...
Strong Winds: Acts of God and “Acts of God”
Hurricane Harvey may have dissipated, his awful work complete, but no sooner did the vicious storm subside than his girlfriend Irma turned up to continue in his absence. I feel for those suffering through the intense rains and flooding, the gale-force winds, and the cumulative threat to life and property. Sadly, the Gulf states have...
How Might New Safety Equipment Affect Texas Work-Injury Law?
Industries with a lot of manual labor often invest in developing safety equipment for their employees. Goggles and hard hats may not look like much, but they're carefully designed and rigorously tested to protect as many eyes and noggins as possible. Harnesses, gloves, reflectors, and other pieces of safety gear follow the same idea: An...
The Legal Landscape Can Be Murky For Injured Cell Tower Workers
Work-injury law is already more complicated in Texas than in any other state. That's because Texas operates two parallel systems that help those who are injured on the job. The traditional workers' compensation system pays benefits to workers or their families when a worker is injured or killed on the job, regardless of whether or...
What Elements Make a Commercial Loading Dock Dangerous?
It hardly needs noting that one of the most dangerous areas on any commercial property is the loading dock. The combination of large machines, heavy cargo, and all-too-fragile human beings often proves calamitous. Leaving aside these obvious dangers, we wondered whether or not there are factors that lead to some loading docks being more dangerous...
Law Professors Misunderstand Texas Work Injury Law
UPDATE: Way to go Austin American-Statesman! It appears the editorial has been removed from their website. An editorial appeared in the Austin American-Statesman that was troubling, to say the least. Law professors Thomas McGarity and Sid Shapiro opined on the need for Texas to strengthen its workers' compensation laws and among other things end the...
Can People Seek Compensation for Zika Infections?
By now I'm sure you've heard the word "Zika." It's the latest mosquito-borne disease to strike fear into our hearts, following the grand tradition of West Nile, yellow and dengue fevers, and malaria. While its impact on generally healthy adults seems to be minimal—outside of exceptionally rare cases of Zika-related Guillain-Barre Syndrome—it's still undoubtedly unpleasant,...
Workplace Accident Analysis: College Station, TX
I wish I couldn't say this, but there's never a shortage of accidents to report on: Car crashes, product malfunctions, commercial wrecks, and workplace injuries happen more or less constantly. Even though our attorneys generally keep the closest eye on our home state of Texas, that's still 268,581 square miles of space to watch. Through...
Benzene: Its Effects and Legal Recourse for the Injured
History's progress has been fueled by some very dangerous chemicals. The chemicals that immediately come to mind are those that soak into people's bones and ruins their lives. So many are produced and used each year that safety testing for their human and environmental effects is often inadequate - or missing altogether. Unsurprisingly, some of...
Does Tyson Bully Injured Workers with Post-Injury Waivers?
We owe a hat tip to a reader who sent along an older, but still fascinating piece from ProPublica. The story details efforts around the country by companies to influence workers' compensation laws in favor of employers. One of the more shocking aspects of the story is how it details efforts of companies to exploit...
Employee or Independent Contractor? The Excel Direct Case
News broke the other day of a settlement in the case of Villalpando v. Excel Direct Inc. et al. The case involves a group of truck drivers and Excel Direct, a trucking company that claims the truckers were independent contractors. The truckers saw things differently, given the many hoops they had to jump through at...
“Trespassing” Employee: Amanda Beuhler Vs. Buffalo Wild Wings
Imagine that you were working a project at work and left an important file at the office. Awesome employee that you are, you decide to swing by the office on a Saturday to pick up that crucial file. As you're making your way to your desk, part of the ceiling caves in and injures you....
The Bizarre Death of Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, Cryotherapy, and The Law
News broke this morning that a worker at a Nevada spa, Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, was killed in an accident involving a cryotherapy* tank. According to reports, Ms. Ake-Salvacion decided to take a dip in the cryotherapy tank after work, unsupervised, and an accident occurred. Her body was discovered frozen solid the next day. Other reports, citing...
Loading Dock Accidents Are Entirely Preventable
It's often said that complacency causes injuries. People let their guard down, or they stop following rules they know they should follow and someone gets hurt. But perhaps the worst example of this is when people talk about highly preventable accidents as if they're some phenomenon that's destined to occur, and there's no way around...
How Employers Often Get Away with Negligence
The vast majority of people, though they might take it for granted sometimes, understand that they have the right to sue those who cause harm to them or their families. One would think that this right would extend to anyone under any circumstances. Unfortunately that's not always true. In most cases where someone is injured...
OSHA Does Not Care About Your Work Injury or Wrongful Death Case
Somehow OSHA has become a household name to the victims of workplace injuries and fatalities, yet there seems to exist an entirely inaccurate understanding of what OSHA actually does following a workplace accident. Simply put: OSHA doesn't care about your lawsuit. At first, that probably sounds a bit harsh. After all, OSHA are the go-to...
Client Stories: Grossman Law Office Takes on Pilgrim’s Pride in Wrongful Death Case
Grossman Law Office was able to help the family of a deceased employee gain closure after we represented them in arbitration against Pilgrim's Pride. The accident happened as Jimmy B. was working at the Pilgrim's Pride processing plant and was run over by an 18 wheeler that was backing up into a loading dock at...
Client Stories: Persistence Pays Off in Work Injury Cases
After being placed by a temp agency, Chris G. was eager to join the workforce at a major meat processing plant facility here in Texas. Unfortunately, after only a few weeks on the job, he suffered a catastrophic injury to his dominant hand after it was ensnared in a meat skinning machine. The temp agency...
