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Rod Bordelon, the Commissioner of Texas’ Division of Workers’ Compensation, abruptly resigned from his position last week, possibly due to criticism that his division was too cozy with the insurers it was supposed to be regulating.

Bordelon’s resignation will officially take effect on August 1. In the meantime, both workers’ advocates and insurers alike have been buzzing about his reasons and how it could affect his division. Lawyers who represented the injured in disputes with insurance companies had claimed that Bordelon’s sympathies were tilted toward the insurers. Meanwhile, the insurers claimed that Bordelon treated them fairly.

Prior to the resignation, state lawmakers were in the process of studying the way Texas treated those who were injured or killed while working. Texas is the only state in the country that does not require all private employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance or a private equivalent. Although two-thirds of employers still carry workers’ compensation insurance, that leaves a substantial number of businesses that do not. With regard to the injured workers who are covered, the Division of Workers’ Compensation acts as a court-like system in order to determine whether injured workers are entitled to benefits. Bordelon recently acknowledged to members of the Business and Industry Committee that these injured workers lost a sizeable percentage of disputes in front of his agency.

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The Texas Court of Appeals of the First District recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment motion against a plaintiff injured by an air compressor box at Lowe’s.

In Carpenter v. Campbell Hausfeld Company, Dwayne Carpenter was shopping for an air compressor at a nearby Lowe’s store in 2009. He tried to load a 1.2 HP 20-Gallon 125 PSI Electric Air Compressor, manufactured by Campbell Hausfeld, into his cart when the strap surrounding the compressor box suddenly broke. The box fell on Carpenter and sent him to the floor, causing him to injure his leg, left hip, arm, and shoulder.

Afterward, Carpenter filed a strict product liability lawsuit against the air compressor’s manufacturer, claiming that the strap was designed defectively, which made the air compressor unreasonably dangerous. In turn, Campbell Hausfeld filed for summary judgment, claiming that Carpenter had provided no evidence to support his lawsuit. Campbell Hausfeld put forth the elements of strict products liability, followed by the elements of a claim premised on a design defect and the statutory requirements for proving a “safer alternative design.” The manufacturer argued that Carpenter not only did not produce evidence of a product defect, but it also failed to produce evidence of a safer alternative design. Campbell Hausfeld argued further that Carpenter failed to argue that its actions were the cause of his injuries, or provide evidence of any damages.

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General Motors has come under the spotlight due to its recall of 13.8 million vehicles in the United States, including those sold in Texas. This has included the most recent recall of 500 new pickup trucks and SUVs due to an airbag malfunction and 2.6 million vehicles due to a faulty ignition that has led to 13 deaths.

The most recent calamity to hit GM was the faulty ignition defect. The defect led to a situation where key rings holding more than one key could cause the ignition to switch to the accessory position or the off position. That could lead to the loss of power, including power steering and breaking, as well as preventing airbags from deploying in the event of a front-impact crash.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM was aware of the defect prior to 2014, but chose to do something about it only this year. The agency criticized GM for waiting so long, noting that the families and friends of those killed as a result “deserve straight answers about what happened.” In response, GM claims that it has launched a new unit that will quickly uncover any safety defects and issue recall notices for the applicable vehicles. For delaying the recall of vehicles with ignition problems, GM will pay a fine to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of $35 million. That is unlikely to be the last time GM issues a payout, given that many families of those killed will probably file wrongful death lawsuits. Some believe that the lawsuits against GM could force the company to pay out as much as $10 billion.

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Recently, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that an injured worker could not receive lifetime workers compensation benefits.

In Menchaca v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, Vincente Menchaca was injured on the job in 1994. Though he received workers compensation disability benefits, he was denied lifetime benefits despite claiming that he had total loss of use in both hands at or above the wrist. Menchaca went through the workers compensation administration review process before he brought a lawsuit against his employer’s workers compensation insurance carrier, the Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (ICSP). In the lawsuit, he sought court review of the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation decision that he was not entitled to lifetime benefits. After the trial court sided with the Insurance Division, Menchaca appealed.

ICSP filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that there was no genuine issue of material fact that Menchaca’s hands still possessed “substantial utlity,” and that his ability to gain and keep employment did not depend on the loss of use of his hands. ICSP offered previous testimony from Menchaca stating that he worked for two different attorneys since he left ICSP’s client, and that he stopped working for the second one due to “Army-related injuries” flaring up. Menchaca also allegedly admitted that he walked with a cane using both hands, could write, had a driver’s license, and lived alone, suggesting that whatever his injuries, he could still lead an independent life. Menchaca responded by objecting to the opinion testimony and medical report of ICSP’s medical expert, who evaluated him in May 2010. The trial court ruled in ICSP’s favor, and Menchaca again appealed.

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To cut down on the number of motorcycle accidents, especially fatalities, the Texas Department of Transportation has launched a campaign called Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles.

Last year, 494 motorcycle riders died in collisions and overall, there were 4,339 crashes involving other vehicles. San Antonio was the city with the most fatalities, at 37, followed by Houston with 32, Dallas with 24, Austin with 12, and Fort Worth with 11. The Share the Road campaign hopes to increase car driver awareness of motorcycles. Due to motorcyclists’ “smaller profile,” it can be difficult for drivers of other vehicles to judge the speed and distance of an approaching motorcycle. As a result, too often a driver will say that he or she never saw the motorcycle before a collision.

Part of the Share the Road campaign will be a Bike Counting Game, which car drivers will be encouraged to play with motorcycles. The game will involve one passenger in the car spotting a motorcycle and calling out to the other occupants of the vehicle. That prevents the driver of the car from going into “automatic” mode and not focusing on the other types of vehicles on the road. Motorcycle riders claim that two things they frequently see drivers do are text while driving and overall remain focused on just what is ahead of them. As a result, motorcycle riders must remain defensive at all times. Some report getting nicked and almost driven off the road by inattentive drivers.

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Recently, the Texas Court of Appeals of the Fifth District ruled against a plaintiff who had been injured by a car accident due to the statute of limitations having elapsed.

In Weeks v. Cockrum, Terry Weeks filed a lawsuit following a car accident in September 2009, claiming that the defendant had operated her vehicle in a negligent manner. Less than two years after the accident, Cockrum temporarily left the state from June 16, 2011 to June 19, 2011. Then in September 2011, Weeks filed the lawsuit against Cockrum. Cockrum denied Weeks’s claims and argued that Weeks was barred from bringing a lawsuit by the statute of limitations. The accident had occurred on September 15, 2009, and Weeks had filed the complaint on September 19, 2011. Weeks countered that because Cockrum had left the state, a tolling provision in place extended the statute of limitations for the three days he was gone. The trial court ruled in favor of Cockrum and Weeks appealed.

The Court of Appeals first examined the state’s two-year statute of limitations, which states that the limitations begin to run in a personal injury case at the time of injury, whether or not the injured [arty was aware of the injury. At the same time, the Texas legislature also created a tolling provision that lengthened the time to file a lawsuit under certain circumstances. These circumstances include “the absence from this state of a person against whom a cause of action may be maintained.” That said, while Cockrum did leave the state, the Court of Appeals noted that Weeks never seemed to be aware of his circumstances, and there was no evidence that Cockrum could not have been served otherwise.

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Ethan Couch continues to cause outrage after getting a judicial slap on the wrist for killing four people and seriously injuring one. However, one family hopes that bringing him to trial will force him to be accountable.

Couch receiving probation for his crimes based, in part, on his wealthy parents’ vow to shoulder the cost of a $450,000 per year treatment program. Yet now it appears that they will not need to pay that cost at all. Instead, Couch has been sent to a state hospital in Vernon, where the daily charge is $715. But Couch’s parents’ cost will be just $1,170 per month — or five percent of the overall treatment costs. As for who pays for the remaining $20,000 per month, that falls on the taxpayers.

Meanwhile, families of the victims have reached settlement agreements with the Couch family, except for that of 13-year old Lucas McConnell. Lucas and his family were dear friends with one of the victims, youth pastor Brian Jennings.

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Residents of West, Texas recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of a major fertilizer explosion that killed 15 people, injured 200, and destroyed homes, schools, and a nursing home. One concern of many is that despite this deadly lesson, not enough has been done to implement new safety rules that would prevent a similar catastrophe from occurring.

In April 2013, a fertilizer plant that had operated for more than 50 years on the north side of town exploded, killing first responders who arrived to contain a fire in the facility. No plant workers were killed, but that may have been merely good fortune, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had fined the plant previously for improper storage of anhydrous ammonia. However, OSHA’s fine was for just $30, when it could have been for as much as $1,000. It turned out that the damage from the plant explosion would amount to $100 million.

While investigators have determined that stored ammonium nitrate caused the explosion, they still do not know what caused the fire that ignited it.

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A Lubbock, Texas recycling company was recently cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for numerous health and safety violations. Jarvis Metals Recycling, Inc. received 24 violations total, as well as a proposed penalty of $64,400.

The health and safety violations included exposing workers to unguarded machinery and electrical, noise, chemical, and fall hazards at the facility on Olive Avenue. Specifically, the violations consisted of failure to maintain electrical components with regard to standards for safe electrical installations; failure to guard industrial machinery; failure to install a completed guard rail system; failure to train workers about hazards posed by cadmium and lead; failure to train workers in how to avoid falling and being struck by hazards while operating powered industrial trucks; failure to prevent too much exposure to noise; failure to provide a program that would help workers retain their hearing; failure to properly store cylinders containing compressed gas; and failure to label propane that had been stored properly. Of the 24, 20 were considered to be “serious” violations, which meant that there was a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm that could have resulted from the hazard, and that the employer either knew or should have known.

Meanwhile, the four “not serious” violations consisted of failure to remove damaged slings so that they would not be used; failure to issue approved respirators; failure to establish a program that aided people’s respiration; and failure to repair stairs that had been damaged. Less serious violations were those that had an effect on the worker’s job or health, but would likely not result in death or serious harm.

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