Author: Ben Agosto III

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Texas Construction Workers Exposed to High Mortality Rate

For years, Texas has led the nation in occupational deaths, with the top percentage typically arising from construction. Despite apparent efforts to combat the inherent risk in construction and other industrious trades, employers have touted that new employees receive mandatory OSHA training in the hopes of mitigating the risk present while on the job. Still,…

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EPA Orders Northfolk Southern to Clean Up Its Mess

Figure 1 – Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Photo credit: www.apnews.com. On Tuesday morning, February 21, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) chief Michael Regan ordered that Norfolk Southern Railroad Company to pay for the cost of remediation for Norfolk Southern’s train derailment, in which 38 derailed. Of those…

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Southwest Houston Residents Wary of Centerpoint Facility Given Safety Concerns

In December 2022, a community protest formed in the Southwest Houston neighborhood of Southwest Crossing; in response to Centerpoint Energy’s new propane facility that was recently constructed on the neighborhood’s fringe. Centerpoint, the Houston-based energy giant, reportedly began building propane-air peak-shaving facilities throughout Houston since 2019. Centerpoint is a beneficiary of an approximately $16 billion…

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U.S. Department of Transportation Seeks to Expand Consumer Protections from Air Carriers Doing Business in the U.S.

In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed an expansion of consumer protections from domestic and foreign air carriers, which would codify a well-settled interpretation of the law that is an unfair business practice for 1) an air carrier, or a ticket agent to refuse to provide requested refunds to consumers when a…

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The Basics of the Longshore Act & Available Remedies for Injured Maritime Workers

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA” or the “Longshore Act”) is a federal workers’ compensation scheme designed to provide coverage to maritime employees who are injured or killed in an incident “occurring upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or…

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