Environmental Liability/Toxic Torts

Prank Played On Offshore Worker Allegedly Results in Cancer, Suit

March 30, 2016 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Sometimes, it is the smallest things that leave the largest impact. On or about March 14, 2014, Brent Little was an employee of Halliburton Energy Services Inc. and serving on the Liftboat Vanessa in the Gulf of Mexico. It was at this time that a prank was allegedly played on Little. John Barrow, a fellow crewman, allegedly slipped red tracer dye into Little’s boot. According to reports, Little wore the tampered boot for 14 hours that day and, upon removing the boots, heard laughter and noticed pink footprints on the floor. The die stained Little’s foot for three weeks and it was at this time that Little was informed that red tracer dye was a carcinogen.

Flash forward more than a year to May 16, 2015, when Little was involved in an automobile accident, the fallout of which required him to take a CT scan. According to Little, the scan revealed he had thyroid cancer, forcing him to undergo a thyroidectomy and the removal of lymph nodes.

Little filed suit on March 14 of this year in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Halliburton and John Barrow, citing negligence. After the initial incident, Halliburton launched an investigation and found John Barrow responsible for the prank. One such reason for Little suing Halliburton in addition to Barrow is likely that the jar of red tracer dye in question was under the care and custody of Halliburton, yet it was stored in the crew’s living quarters and had no label or warning signs that identified it as hazardous.

Woman Files Suit Over Alleged Cancer-Causing Products

March 29, 2016 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Several corporations and other defendants have been taken to court by a New Orleans woman who claims to have developed ovarian cancer after using defendants’ products.

Paula Jackson filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans Division on March 16, naming Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., Luzenac America Inc., Rio Tinto Minerals Inc., John Does/Jane Does 1-30, and other businesses and/or corporations, whose identities and involvement are as of yet unknown, as defendants. The Doe defendants are representatives of the corporations whose conduct allegedly caused or contributed to the damages of the plaintiff.

The issues of this case primarily revolve around products containing talc, which defendants Johnson manufactured and defendants Luzenac and Rio have continually marketed as safe for human use. From about 1974 to 2015, Jackson applied defendants’ products to her groin for feminine hygiene purposes, which is a foreseeable use of such products based on their advertising according to the suit. On September 27, 2015, Jackson was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 62. Prior to this diagnosis, she allegedly did not have any of the risk factors normally associated with such a disease.

Submerged Chevron Boat Allegedly Causes Another To Sink, Injuries

January 26, 2016 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

A lawsuit has been brought against Chevron for a shrimp boat that sank last year, allegedly due to an underwater and unmarked vessel owned by the company.

Hosea Wilson and Shajaun Turner filed suit on January 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Chevron USA, Inc. They claimed negligence on the part Chevron which resulted in damage to personal property and personal injury.

According to the suit, on March 19, Wilson and Turner were piloting a 36-foot Newton shrimp boat in Garden Island Bay in Plaquemines Parish. It was at this time that their vessel collided with a submerged and unmarked vessel owned by Chevron. The collision caused heavy hull damage to Wilson’s boat, and injured both men, according to the complaint. Additionally, the hull damage was so severe that Wilson’s boat took on water and sank.

Boat Capsized Reportedly Due to Negligent Wake Leaves Two Injured

January 12, 2016 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Two men’s routine fishing trip was literally and figuratively upheaved when another marine vessel’s high rate of speed resulted in the capsizing of their boat, allegedly leaving the two men with various injuries.

Benjamin Lee Hines, Sr., and Andreas Damone Vitto sued Southern States Offshore Inc. on January 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana., alleging negligence and personal injury liability.

According to the suit, the two men were fishing out of a recreational vessel around Maxie’s Grocery Store near Intercostal City in Vermillion Parish on September 27, 2014. At a certain time that day, Southern States Offshore’s vessel, the Southern Belle, entered that waterway at an alleged high rate of speed. The suit states that the rate was much too fast for prevailing conditions that day, and caused an intense wake. It is this wake which allegedly capsized the boat Hines and Vitto were fishing out of, knocking both men into the water.

BP Cleanup Captain Files Suit

November 17, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Another lawsuit has arisen from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, this time stemming from the cleanup of the aforementioned accident.

Josip Piacun filed a complaint against BP Exploration & Production Inc., and B.P. America Production Co. alleging gross negligence under general maritime law. Piacun claimed that the company negligently exposed him to hazardous and cancer-causing compounds.

Piacun was hired as a vessel captain in April 20, 2010, in response to the BP oil spill. While he was employed from June 2010 to December 2010, Piacun claims BP negligently exposed him to dermal and airborne chemical compounds that are generally accepted to be toxic, volatile, and carcinogenic. The suit states that, as a result of this exposure, Piacun “developed psychological, dermal, respiratory, and cardiopulmonary complications.”

Louisiana Resident Files Class-Action Against Blue Bell Creameries

August 28, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

A class-action suit has been filed against Blue Bell Creameries relating to the listeria outbreak in their products. The event lead to a product recall in March.

Steven J. Leon, of Hammond, Louisiana, brought a class-action suit against the company, alleging negligence, redhibition, breach of warranty, and unjust enrichment. The suit’s putative class consists of upwards of 100 members and the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million.

The accompanying complaint posits that consumers who purchased Blue Bell products between March 13 and April 20 are entitled to damages because Blue Bell purportedly failed to provide adequate notice of the recall. The recall was posted on the Blue Bell website on or about March and April, but, according to the suit, the company had had positive test results for a potentially lethal bacterium since 2013.

Family Sues BP for Death Allegedly Resulting from Deepwater Horizon

August 21, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

A family is suing BP for the wrongful death of their father as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Incident. Nedjelka Mjehovic, Vlaho Mjehovic and Borislava Mjehovic have accused BP of negligence that resulted in the wrongful death of their father, Miro Mjehovic, filing suit on his behalf.

Detailed in the complaint, Miro was the captain of a vessel that performed clean-up duties under the direction of BP. Miros was employed by U.S. Maritime Services of New Orleans but was hired by BP following the Deepwater Horizon Incident. He was performing his duties off the coast of St. Bernard parish and Plaquemines parish when he came into dermal and airborne contact with crude oil containing volatile compounds which, according to the plaintiffs, are widely regarded as toxic and carcinogenic. As a result of this alleged contact, Miro developed dermal, respiratory, and cardiopulmonary complications culminating in acquired hemophilia, which he died from in 2012 despite medical care.

In their complaint, the Mjehovics state that their father should have been better protected from hazardous chemical exposure and that BP should have taken such precautions. The suit claims breach of duty and three counts of negligence, stemming from failure to prevent the Deepwater Horizon explosion, failure to cap the Macondo well properly, and failure to warn personnel and properly equip employees.

Brothers Gas Station Sued for Customer’s Injuries

March 23, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Many of us have undoubtedly taken advantage of the recent low gas prices. At well under $2.00/gallon in January and February, gasoline consumption has skyrocketed. And as we flock in droves to our local gas stations, we expect properly working equipment; we expect safeguards. But, sometimes, these safeguards fail, exposing gas station customers to a multitude of dangers. In a recent lawsuit filed against Brothers Belle Chasse LLC and Exxon Mobil Corporation, a Terrytown man allegedly received several injuries sustained while pumping gas at the iconic “Brothers” gas station. As the petition sets forth, the plaintiff was pumping gas when the gas hose ruptured, spraying gasoline on him. The injuries primarily complained of are the alleged result of gasoline making contact with his left eye.

Such malfunctions occur when the gas station owners, managers, and attendants fail to properly maintain the protective safeguards of gas stations as required by law, oftentimes resulting in injury. In this particular instance of the Terrytown Brothers gas station, the plaintiff is alleging the gas stations’ “fail[ure] to correct a hazard, creating a dangerous condition, failing to adequately inspect and failing to warn customers.” As illustrated by this case, individuals responsible for maintain a safe environment at gas stations must adhere to regulations, and must make the effort to ensure that their stations are always operating in a safe manner.

The attorneys at Broussard, David & Moroux have the knowledge and experience necessary to handle cases of this nature and will fight to obtain fair compensation for your injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of another’s negligence, contact the attorneys at Broussard, David & Moroux to discuss your legal rights at (337) 233-2323 (local) or (888) 337-2323 (toll-free).

Penalty Phase of BP Trial Concludes, Steep Civil Penalties Expected

March 6, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

On February 2^nd, after two long years of litigation, the final phase of the BP oil spill trial finally saw its last day in court. This last phase—the penalty phase—served as a chance for attorneys representing both sides to argue for reduction or expansion of BP’s potential fines under the Clean Water Act.

Presiding Judge Carl Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana limited the amount of potential fines by potentially billions of dollars when he found the size of the spill to be 3.19 million barrels instead of the federal government’s estimate of 4.09 million barrels. This difference represented up to $17.6 billion in fines.

Despite this, Judge Barbier’s ruling on the merits—that BP was “grossly negligent”—bumped their potential liability far beyond the liability under a finding of ordinary negligence. Specifically, a finding a “gross negligence” opened BP up to a statutory maximum of $4,300 for each barrel spilled.

Federal Judge Dismisses Levee Authority’s Lawsuit Against Oil and Gas Companies

February 20, 2015 | by Broussard, David & Moroux

Back in October, we wrote about an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority against eighty-eight oil and gas companies operating off the Louisiana coast. Last Friday, February 13, 2015, this lawsuit saw its final days in court, as Federal Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown dismissed the lawsuit under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the plaintiff’s failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

The Levee Authority filed this lawsuit ostensibly under its authority to “ensure the physical and operational integrity of the regional flood risk management system.” Their central contention was that the defendant oil and gas companies’ operations “have led to coastal erosion in the Buffer Zone, making south Louisiana more vulnerable to severe weather and flooding.” The Buffer Zone is an area in which the defendant oil companies currently operate and extends from the Mississippi River “through the Breton Sound Basin, the Biloxi Marsh, and the coastal wetlands of eastern New Orleans and up to Lake St. Catherine.”

The Levee Authority’s specific claims were that the defendants dredged a network of access canals for transportation of oil and gas products, which killed off much of the vegetation, caused sedimentation inhibition, erosion, and subsequent submergence of coastal land. Additionally, the Levee Authority claimed that the defendant oil companies failed to properly maintain the access channels and canals, which exacerbated erosion of canal banks, creating wider, deeper canals than permitted.