ANNOUNCEMENT
Plant Explosion in Geismar Louisiana Kills 1, Injures 73
GEISMER, LA —A ground-rattling explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed one person and injured dozens of others, authorities said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of flames as high as 200 feet into the air and workers scrambling over gates to escape the plant.
Louisiana’s health department said 73 people were treated at hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to critical following the morning explosion. A body was found by hazardous materials crews going through the aftermath of the blast at the facility, state police Capt. Doug Cain said. Trooper Jared Sandifer said the man killed was 29-year-old Zachary C. Green, of Hammond.
For more information about the explosion please contact Larry Centola at (504) 581-9065
Martzell & Bickford Pleased to Announce Acadian Ambulance Class-Action a Judgement has been Reached
NEW ORLEANS, LA—A judgment has been issued against Acadian Ambulance for illegally “balance billing” and liening patients. Acadian had a policy of not submitting a patients claim to the health insurance company (a violation of their contract with the health insurance company) and then liening the patient, the third party liability carrier and the patients attorney (a violation of LSA-R.S. 22:1874 et seq). The case was tried to Judge Mark Jeansonne of the 12th JDC in Avoyelles parish. Larry Centola, of Martzell & Bickford, is representing the class of plaintiffs. Mr. Centola has substantial experience and much success in representing the interests of Plaintiffs in other similar, complex litigations. Judge Jeansonne ruled against Acadian Ambulance. With interest and restitution of collection of payments, the total damages are around $17,000,000.
For more information about the current judgment please contact Larry Centola at (504) 581-9065
Toyota Announces Settlement Reached for Vehicles Equipped with an Electronic Throttle Control System (ETCS)
Toyota recently announced a settlement had been reached for all vehicles manufactured prior to 12/28/2018 with ETCS systems. All claims must be submitted no later than 150 days after this date. For more information please see the Toyota Economic Loss Settlement Website
For more information about the current settlement please contact Martzell & Bickford at (504) 581-9065
UPDATE: Bayou Corne Sinkhole
For more information about the current settlement or about the Bayou Corne Sinkhole litigation, contact one of our attorneys at the Law Office of Martzell and Bickford: (504) 581-9065.
Larry Centola III, of Martzell & Bickford Law Firm, Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Handling the Bayou Corne Sinkhole Lawsuits
NEW ORLEANS, LA, — On December 5, 2012, a federal judge in New Orleans appointed the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (“PSC”) in the Bayou Corne Sinkhole lawsuit. The Court ordered that all plaintiffs are directed to act through the PSC for all issues requiring the Court’s attention. Members of the PSC have been at the forefront of this litigation since the first filings. Larry Centola III, Esq., of Martzell & Bickford has been appointed to the PSC. Mr. Centola has substantial experience and much success in representing the interests of Plaintiffs in other similar, complex litigations. The Bayou Corne Sinkhole lawsuit involves potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of victims. Texas Brine LLC is involved in the Bayou Corne sinkhole incident and was recently fined $100,000 by the Department of Natural Resources for failing to obey several safety directives the state issued Nov. 12 regarding the sinkhole in Assumption Parish.
NEWS – Monday 12/9, to read article on possible sinkhole explosion click here
Friday, parish officials announced confirmation that hydrogen sulfide is in the sinkhole disaster area. “Texas Brine Oxy 3A evaluation was performed this morning and confirmed the well does have H2S present in the hydrocarbon,” officials stated in their blog post Friday. “The Well has been shut in and a work plan is being developed to address this issue. We will update accordingly.”
NEWS – Monday 12/3, on the four-month Louisiana sinkhole anniversary, bubbling bayou residents are asking why Gov. Bobby Jindal has never visited them during the state of emergency and mandatory evacuation he declared due to the massive sinkhole disaster. Although Assumption Parish Police Jury passed a resolution Wednesday requesting oil and gas service company Texas Brine Company to buy out property owners wanting to permanently relocate and compensate stayers, the parish has not issued that request to the company to date.
Property values have dropped to an all-time low, as has regard for Gov. Bobby Jindal, locals told Deborah Dupré at the Examiner and Kris Cuzansa at NBC Monday.
“We would like to see our governor,” Bayou Corne property owner John Achee said. “Where has he been since all this has started? I mean this has been going on for six months. People have been evacuated for four months. We haven’t seen the governor. We haven’t heard from him. It’s like a circus without a ring leader literally.”
Hundreds of people signed a petition initiated by Heilig asking Jindal to expand the mandatory evacuation zone near the sinkhole.
“How can a governor declare a state of emergency in his own state, and then be absent from anything having to do with said emergency?” Heilig asks. “Does he not realize how this is affecting the people out here? Does he not care, or is he just too busy cutting ribbons for bridge projects?”
“When you see a guy like Governor Bobby Jindal out there and he’s talking about trying to pick up the oil from the Deepwater Horizon, but the first thing he wants to do is keep drilling,” award-winning investigative journalist Greg Palast says in the movie, The Big Fix. “Where is he getting his money?”
“By 2010, Gov. Jindal had taken $645,935 from oil and gas companies.” (Dupré, Vampire of Macondo)
“Environmental groups in particular always say, ‘the oil industry has raped Louisiana,’” says professor of environmental studies at Louisiana State University Dr. Paul Templet in The Big Fix. “And my response has always been, they haven’t really raped us. They came to us with money in their hands and we said, ‘take us.’
“The political establishment here has been prostitutes to the oil industry, and not high priced call girls in many cases – cheap hookers,” Templet says.
Property values near worthless
“If they paid me my property value right now they wouldn’t have to pay me much,” Henry Welch, Bayou Corne Resident, said. “I don’t have any property value here, since their stuff started up.”
Other residents already battling cancer worry that the new chemicals in air and water are increasing their vulnerability. They also want to leave, they told Dupré.
There are seven companies operating out of the Napoleonville Salt Dome. Authorities have yet to confirm the source of the crude oil seeping into the dome. They are holding Texas Brine responsible for the entire disaster due to its collapsed cavern in the dome.
For the latest updates and information on the Bayou Corne Sinkhole investigation please see our Bayou Corne Sinkhole: Topics of Interest page. For other helpful websites see below:
Red Cross of Southeast Louisiana
The Assumption Parish Government
TOPICS OF INTEREST
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