Toxic Torts › Labor & Employment Law

The Affordable Care Act’s Employer Mandate and the Collectively Bargained Workforce

As 2014 rapidly approaches, employers of all sizes and all industries are working hard to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s (the “Act”) Employer Mandate, now appearing in the Internal Revenue Code, Section 4980H. For employers...more

BP Charged Over $4 Billion in Penalties From Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

A settlement related to BP's involvement in the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill includes the largest criminal penalty in US history and serious charges against some employees. The result in the BP oil spill case demonstrates...more

When Are Witness Statements Protected As Attorney Work Product?

One of the first things an attorney does when representing a client in a particular matter is interview witnesses to learn the facts of the case, or have an investigator do such on their behalf. The attorney will almost...more

Placing Limits on Forum Shopping

Our preview of the September term of the Illinois Supreme Court continues with Fennell v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, a case which may clarify the standards limiting the ability of a plaintiff - or sometimes, a...more

OSHA Modifies Hazard Communication Standard

This past spring, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) modified its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform to the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of...more

OSHA's New HazCom Standard and Its Potential Impact on Tort Suits

Mackrell International's Regulatory SubGroup Presents: Regulatory Matters! May 2012 Newsletter: Vol. II, Issue I According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"), almost a million hazardous chemicals...more

Alleged Chemical Release Did Not "Speak for Itself"

Contractors working at a refinery who were allegedly exposed to chemical fumes cannot rely on the venerable res ipsa loquitur theory because their claimed injuries may have had other causes. See Pearson v. BP Products North...more

Asbestos Litigation Case Questions Safety in the Workplace

Although most would consider asbestos to be an old problem, limited to mainly the manufacturing and construction industries, asbestos has been incorporated into a myriad of products that had many and varied uses. Because...more

Rogers Towers: HIRE Act Creates New Tax Benefits for Employers

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (“HIRE Act”), signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010, creates, among other things, two new tax benefits to employers hiring workers who were previously unemployed...more

Hissey Kientz to Hold Testing Sessions for Victims of Asbestos Exposure

The law firm of Hissey Kientz, LLP is conducting two asbestos testing sessions in the El Paso, Texas area for individuals who may have developed cancers such as mesothelioma or other diseases as a result of asbestos...more

Hissey Kientz, LLP Announces Its Support For A New Bill That Would Protect The Rights Of Victim Of Asbestos Exposure Who Have...

The law firm of Hissey Kientz, LLP wishes to announce its support for a new bill that would make it easier for sufferers of malignant mesothelioma to prove that their injuries were caused by exposure to asbestos. The bill...more

Hissey Kientz, LLP Announces the Launch of Mesothelioma Lawyers Help Web Site

The law firm of Hissey Kientz, LLP has announced the launch of its new website, Mesothelioma Lawyers Help (http://www.mesotheliomalawyershelp.com). Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer linked to exposure to asbestos....more

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act provides whistleblower protections to the employees of manufacturers and retailers of consumer products....more

Patient Resource Mesothelioma Hotline Launched

The law firm of Hissey Kientz has announced the launch of its new website, Mesothelioma Hotline. The website is a resource for information about asbestos and mesothelioma, and will provide mesothelioma patients and their...more

Hissey Kientz, LLP Announces Support for Household Mesothelioma Victims

The law office of Hissey Kientz, LLP and its team of experienced mesothelioma lawyers announced today that it will continue to fight for the rights of household mesothelioma victims in light of a decision by the 14th Court...more

Kramm vs. USDOL and Dept. of the Army, Mobility Equipment Command, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam

ECAB Decision Finding Employee's Cancer as Caused by Expsoure to Agent Orange

The only documented OWCP claim issued by the USDOL for the death of a US federal civilian employee due to Agent Orange. Claimant was a young civilian employee of the US Army employed in Vietnam from 1968 through 1975...more

The Art of Perpetuating a Public Health Hazard

This study by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is set up to show the faults of past public relations concerning asbestos and suggests that we use this as a paradigm for future health hazards. Exposure to...more

Chrysophiles versus Chrysophobes

This study is about the controversy over the different types of asbestos particles and how harmful they are. Asbestos is extremely dangerous if inhaled and often causes fatal diseases later in life. Some of these diseases...more

RE: Controlled Use of Asbestos

This article examines the idea of the "controlled use of asbestos". Asbestos is very dangerous when inhaled and can cause several serious diseases. Some of these diseases include but are not limited to mesothelioma,...more

Asbestos Fibers Contributing to the Induction of Human Malignant Mesothelioma

This study by the Annals New York Academy of Sciences examines the link between asbestos and malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has a long latency period and is often diagnosed several years after exposure. Asbestos has...more

Cancer Mortality Among Workers Exposed to Amphibole-free Chrysotile Asbestos

This study by the American Journal of Epidemiology examines the cancer mortality among workers exposed to amphibole-free chrysotile asbestos. Asbestos has been linked to a series of fatal diseases that often show up several...more

Asbestos Tissue Burden Study on Human Malignant Mesothelioma

This study examines the relationship between exposure to asbestos and malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos is proven to cause several fatal diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural diseases. These diseases may not...more

The Carcinogenicity of Chrysotile Asbestos - A Review

This article by William J. Nicholson discusses the carcinogenicity of chrysotile asbestos. Chrysotile asbestos is linked to several fatal illnesses including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural diseases. ...more

Asbestos Lung Fibre Concentrations in South African Chrysotile Mine Workers

This article is about the effects of chrysotile exposure on South African miners. Chrysotile asbestos can be very dangerous when inhaled often causing mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer years after exposure. ...more

The Hazards of Chrysotile Asbestos: A Critical Review

This article from Industrial Health states that asbestos causes cancer of the lung, malignant mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum, cancer of the larynx, and certain gastrointestinal cancers. Chrysotile also causes...more