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.…
State transportation officials began the next phase of its 22 ½ mile project to a build cable barrier along I-10’s median between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Studies suggest that cable barriers are an effective means of preventing deadly crossover crashes. Crossover accidents can occur when a driver loses control…
An Amtrak Train carrying over 70 passengers derailed in Michigan this week after colliding with a large truck that was stuck on its tracks. The accident sent 10 people to the hospital. This accident follows a string of recent Amtrak crashes over the past year, including two Louisiana Amtrak accidents…