Serious Accidents Our Texas City Injury Law Firm Has Litigated
Our firm has represented victims of some of the most high-profile accidents in recent memory. Nearly a third of the Deepwater Horizon crew turned to us after BP caused an explosion. 3 widows turned to us after 33 souls aboard the El Faro were lost in a hurricane, due to the negligence of the vessel’s owner. Nearly a dozen William Olefins workers came to us after a plant explosion in Geismar left many of them permanently injured or harmed. When the stakes couldn’t be higher, people turn to Arnold & Itkin for answers and for justice.
Our past cases have included investigating negligence involving:
- Commercial truck accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Offshore accidents
- Plant explosions
- Industrial accidents
- Car and motorcycle accidents
In one of our earliest cases, Arnold & Itkin represented workers injured in the 2005 BP Texas City explosion. The foundation of our firm was built in Texas City, and our firm has continued to have close ties with the community of industrial workers in Texas City and surrounding areas.
Texas City Industrial Accident Attorneys
More than a century ago, the nation underwent an industrial revolution that changed the world’s economy. Though the nation’s wealth was growing, the experience of the common worker was deteriorating quickly. After countless injuries and deaths throughout industrial America, workers fought for laws that would protect their wellbeing as they worked to provide for their families. Today, many employers ignore the legacy of this hard work by neglecting to follow the laws designed to keep workers healthy and productive. That means many workers throughout every industry are still facing unnecessary hazards every day, thanks to their employers.
These job locations still have a risk of industrial accidents:
- Oil rigs
- Mines
- Factories
- Refineries
- Chemical plants
- Construction sites
Types of Industrial Accident Injuries
Industrial work requires heavy machinery to remain productive and competitive. Along with heavy machinery, work sites often house dangerous chemicals and other hazards to create a set of risk factors that employers must protect workers from. That protection comes in the form of good safety equipment, compliant maintenance schedules, and adequate training for all new employees. When one of these protections is missing, a life-threatening hazard is almost guaranteed.
The Law Demands Worker Protection
In 1970, lawmakers developed a sweeping set of reforms that were designed to heighten safety standards for the American worker. Though progress had been made, the public was alarmed over persistently high death and injury rates in the United States. The resulting Occupational Safety and Health Act required a heightened amount of safety requirements and education for employees. The results were astonishing – injuries and deaths dropped drastically in the years following the new law. However, to cut corners and increase profits, companies purposely neglect safety laws and place their workers at risk.
If you work somewhere and feel that it neglects safety standards, notify your supervisor immediately. Employers who willfully ignore concerns are liable for neglect in the event of an industrial accident. It is important to remember that laws are created to protect every citizen. It is your right to be safe as you earn a living. It’s simple: work accidents should not happen in a country with laws such as the OSH Act of 1970.
Texas City Disaster – America’s Worst Industrial Accident
On April 16, 1947, Texas City was the location of one of the most tragic industrial accidents in American history. The American economy was booming in the aftermath of World War II, and wartime materials were being used for a variety of domestic needs. Originally used as an explosive by the army, ammonium nitrate found a post-war use as fertilizer. As a shipment of this volatile fertilizer was being loaded onto the freighter Grandcamp, crucial safety laws were disregarded. Cigarette use was officially banned on the ship, but the restriction was widely ignored by dock workers and their supervisors.
When a discarded cigarette ignited a fire inside the Grandcamp, fate took over what negligence begun. Afraid to damage the cargo, workers avoided the use of hoses and tried to extinguish the fire by other means. It didn’t work. The resulting explosion was devastating: buildings were leveled, and people felt the shockwave in neighboring Louisiana. Almost 600 people lost their lives and more than 5,000 people were injured. It’s worth noting that the losses and tragedy of the Texas City Disaster could have been prevented had supervisors enforced simple safety rules regarding cigarettes.
Results for Industrial Accident Victims
At Arnold & Itkin, our Texas City industrial accident lawyers are familiar with our state’s tragic workplace accident history. As a result, our industrial accident attorneys have fought relentlessly for workers to keep employers accountable.
In 2013, the Williams Olefins plant in Geismar, Louisiana exploded and tragically killed two people. Adding to the community’s heartache was 167 injured workers. After investigating the incident, the lawyers at Arnold & Itkin found a pattern of neglect that lead directly to the death and injury of innocent people. We used this discovery to prove that the accident could have been prevented. Our firm was able to secure $34 million total for the 8 workers who came to us for help.
Arnold & Itkin in the News
Helping People Recover from Catastrophic Injuries
Unlike most injury “types,” catastrophic injuries aren’t defined by what part of your body is injured or what the injury was caused by. Instead, catastrophic injuries are defined by their long-term impact on your mobility or cognitive abilities. When an injury impedes your ability to think, move, or remain independent, it’s considered legally and medically “catastrophic.” Countless people suffer catastrophic injuries every day, many of them due to negligence.
Catastrophic injuries include but are not limited to:
- Permanent brain damage
- Paralysis
- Amputated limbs
- Neck and back injuries
- Severe burn injuries
- Post-traumatic stress
- Toxic exposure
- Fractured bones
- Sexual assault
- Vision and hearing loss
Many of our past clients came to us because a catastrophic injury left them unable to work and drowning in medical bills. In many cases, people who are suffering from a catastrophic injure require another family member (or a professional) to care for them around the clock. In this way, catastrophic injuries can actually rob a family of two incomes at once. Our firm has been able to win billions to help these people get the medical care they needed while helping them rebuild their future.
If you need an advocate after suffering a serious injury, speak with our Texas City personal injury attorneys as soon as possible. We can discuss your legal and financial options.
