A three year old boy from Plain Dealing died when he was hit by a car while riding his tricycle. After being pushed off the road and into a ditch, he was pronounced dead at LSU Hospital in Shreveport. Tragic deaths such as this can be heart-wrenching and devastating experiences…
A 7 year old Gonzales girl was killed when hit by a train earlier this week. The girl was walking home with her older sisters when the accident occurred. She was taken from the scene to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Trains can provide a fast and…
Lafayette Parish has been among the top three parishes in Louisiana for alcohol-related crashes, and was one of 10 pilot parishes to receive money from the state Department of Health and Hospitals to reduce such accidents. In 2009, The Knowledge Effect (previously the Lafayette Coalition to Prevent Substance Abuse), a…
This month, a fire and explosion at the Westlake Chemical Corp. Complex in Geismar resulted in an estimated 15 compounds being released over the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish. Only a few of those compounds, including hydrochloric acid, chlorine, vinyl chloride monomer exceeded the one-hour permit level set by the…
The Louisiana School Boards Association passed a resolution in unanimous support for the Bullying Prevention Act of 2012, an anti-school bullying bill before the state legislature this session. The bill purports to make schools safer by providing a means for students to directly report instances of violence to school administrators…
BP recently reached an estimated $7.8 billion settlement with private individual and business plaintiffs this month. Out of the settlement, the parties agreed to allocate $2.3 billion to claimants from the seafood industry. However this settlement is uncapped and only reflects BP’s estimate of the damages. A court will actively…
State Rep. Austin Badon is continuing his battle to ban all cell phone use while driving in Louisiana. Badon introduced a bill this month that seeks to ban all cell phone use while operating a motor vehicle in the state, with the exception of hands-free devices. For the past four…
The Governor’s Task Force on DWI and Vehicular Homicide recently suggested that the state require judges to sentence all convicted drunk drivers to some jail time. In light of the upcoming legislative session, Sen. Jonathon Perry now intends to introduce a bill that would mandate jail time for DWI offenders…
A Costa cruise ship caught fire early this week, leaving over 1,000 passengers stranded in the Indian Ocean. After the ship’s generator room caught fire, the ship was left without electricity and began to drift. Authorities rushed to the liner to help passengers and to search for the cause of…
Two barges collided in the Mississippi River near St. John the Baptist Parish this month, spilling an estimated 10,000 gallons of crude oil into the Mississippi River. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the accident remains unclear. This accident shows the relationship between maritime law and environmental safety.…