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23
Jan

Asbestos Exposure Is More Common Than You Might Think

Did you know that everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time in their life?  Low levels of asbestos are present in the air, water, and soil.  Most people do not become ill from this type of exposure.  However, one can become ill from even brief exposures to asbestos in some situations.

What is asbestos?

The National Cancer Institute states that “Asbestos is the name given to a group of minerals that occur naturally in the environment as bundles of fibers and can be separated into thin, durable threads.  These fibers are resistant to heat, fire and chemicals and do not conduct electricity.  For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries.”

The danger with asbestos is that fibers can be released and subsequently trapped in the lungs.  Eventually this can cause scarring and inflammation which can lead to breathing difficulties and in some cases – cancer.

Occupations at risk

  • Maritime workers
  • All trades of construction workers
  • Demolition and wrecking crews of all trades
  • Custodians
  • Plant workers at manufacturing plants
  • Railroad workers
  • Building engineers
  • Electrical workers
  • Shipyard workers
  • Automobile manufacturing production workers
  • Textile mill workers
  • Flight industry workers – aerospace and missile production workers, aircraft manufacturing production workers and aircraft mechanics

What is also important to realize is that family members of those who work around asbestos are also at risk.

In many cases it can take from 10 to 40 years or more for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear.  That’s one of the reasons why we recommend that you have regular physicals if you work in an occupation where any level of asbestos is present.  This will allow your physician to diagnose any potential problems that may be dormant in your body.

You can also protect yourself by following all health and safety regulations as well as OSHA established regulations.  OSHA also has an Asbestos Web Page that will provide additional information.

If you or a loved one has had exposure to asbestos and are now battling the effects of this or have concerns as to how ongoing exposure could affect your future, we suggest that you call Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law so that we can help ensure that your legal rights are adequately protected.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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2
Jan

Child Safety and Preventing Burns

The Mayo Clinic has some excellent information on child safety in the home as it particularly relates to fires and burns.  I’d like to share some of the highlights with you.

One of the first things is to create a consistent system for making sure your smoke alarms are in good working order.  Most of us have smoke alarms installed.  But too often, the alarms are out of order or the batteries are dead.  It’s important to change the batteries twice a year.  We often recommend that you get in the habit of doing so in the spring and fall at the beginning and end of daylight savings time.

Household hazards

There are many things in our homes that have potential to cause burns on children.

  • Hot water – when children take baths they love to play with the faucets and fill the tub up.  A child’s bath water should be no hotter than 100 F so it’s important to monitor them closely, especially if your thermostat is set higher than 120 F.
  • Hot spills – never carry a hot beverage or soup when you’re holding a child.  Turn the handles of your pots and pans to a position where a child cannot easily grab them.  The use of tablecloths can also pose a hazard.  If a child pulls on the tablecloth when there are heavy items or hot liquids, he/she could be burned or otherwise seriously injured.
  • Irons – make sure that you unplug your iron immediately after use and keep the cords out of children’s reach.
  • Food temperature – many of us use the microwave daily and microwaves have a tendency to heat things unevenly.  Make sure that you test food from a microwave before giving it to your child so they are not scalded.
  • Electrical outlets – we suggest that you purchase plastic plugs for your outlets so that children cannot place metal objects into the outlet which could cause electrical burns.

Prevent home fires

  • Cigarettes – residential fires caused by cigarettes are the leading cause of fire-related death.  If you do smoke, consider using deep ashtrays and flood cigarette ashes with water before you put them in the trash.
  • Supervise young children – children seem to be innately fascinated by fire.  Therefore, it is very important that young children be supervised.  They can accidentally start fires by attempting to cook or by using a heater or electrical appliance in the wrong way.
  • Space heaters – make sure that you keep these heaters at least three feet away from bedding, drapes, furniture or other flammable materials.  Never leave a space heater on when you go to sleep or leave the room.
  • Candles – never leave a candle burning when you go to sleep or when you leave the room.  And be careful where you position a candle.  Make sure that it is not directly under something flammable such as drapes.  And make sure that your candles are not in places where children or pets can knock them over.

Protecting your children from burns requires thought and planning.  At Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law we have seen evidence of the trauma and life-changing damage that can occur from severe burns.  We want to make sure that doesn’t happen to you or anyone in your family.

Popularity: 22% [?]

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4
Dec

Top 10 Dangerous Occupations in America

After 9/11 the sense of safety and security in the mind of the Amercian worker changed significantly.  Before that 1 in 6 workers felt that his job was dangerous.  Now 1 in 4 believe they have a dangerous job.  Foreigners in the workplace cause discomfort and people from waiters in eateries to employees with the U.N. are wary of colleagues and people of middle-eastern origin.

There has been a massive change in how safety measures are implemented now versus per 9/11.  Precaution is the byword and employees across industries have undergone security training, safety training, and crisis training.  Unfortunately, these steps have not resulted in less fear.  Rather, they serve to highlight the dangers that many of us were previously unaware of.

In comparing the top 10 most dangerous occupations in 2003 and 2006, there is only one occupation that is new to the list and that is refuse collectors.  Garbage collectors and those who work with recyclable materials are exposed to all kinds of threats – biological, mechanical, chemical, and even physical.  There is a real hazard of an explosion in your face from an old battery or getting a nick from a rusted blade and not noticing it until it’s too late.  Another concern is being exposed to disease-carrying vermin.  Sadly, many avoidable fatalities occur when impatient motorists try to overtake or bypass garbage trucks and in the process hit the garbage-truck driver.

Here are the 10 most dangerous American jobs as of December 2006:

  1. Timber cutters and loggers
  2. Fishers and crabbers
  3. Commercial pilots
  4. Construction workers/Ironworkers
  5. Refuse collectors
  6. Farmers and ranchers
  7. Roofers
  8. Electrical power-line installers
  9. Drivers transporting goods and livestock
  10. Cab drivers and chauffeurs

Another job that did not make the top 10 list but has significant potential for danger is that of offshore workers.  Based on figures for 2006-2007 the main cause of major and fatal injuries were related to slips/trips/falls, being trapped, struck by or striking against equipment or injuries associated with lifts/pulls/pushes or swinging of loads.  The majority of the injuries reported were due to fractures or injuries to the upper limb.

Offshore workers are also susceptible to ill health and disease.  The most common ones reported are food poisoning, chickenpox, and decompression related effects.

At Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law, we have represented thousands of injured workers many of whom are offshore workers.  If you are injured on the job, we’d be happy to talk with you about your legal rights and help make sure that those rights are protected.

Popularity: 17% [?]

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16
Nov

Talking On A Cell Phone While Driving Is As Dangerous As Driving Drunk

A study from researchers at the University of Utah, published in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors, concludes that talking on a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, even if the phone is a hands-free model.  An earlier study by researchers at the university found that motorists who talked on hands-free cell phones were 18 percent slower in braking and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.

Another study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event.  And multiple studies have identified cell phone use while driving, as the most prevalent of all driving distractions.  In January 2007 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. did a survey of 1200 drivers and found that 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.

Text messaging via cell phone is described as the biggest driving distraction according to a survey conducted by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).  Of the teens surveyed, 37 percent said that text messaging was extremely or very distracting.  Nationwide Insurance found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.

It is not a coincidence that so many organizations are studying driving and cell phone use.  The consequences of these activities, when performed together, are sometimes catastrophic.  At Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law we have sent our clients several cautions about driving and the use of cell phones because we see what can happen and we don’t want it to happen to you or someone in your family.

Popularity: 16% [?]

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2
Nov

Terry Bryant Law Firm Wins Record Verdict For Clients

Our firm has won a record verdict of $29 million for a Spring couple injured in an automobile crash last year.

That judgment of $29,391,378 in Coldspring, Texas, is the largest ever given in San Jacinto County.

Our firm sued the driver of the pickup truck who hit the couple near Brenham.  We also sued the driver’s employer, Universal Cable Holdings, for whom he was working at the time of the accident.

It’s gratifying to be able to win a decision such as this.  No one ever expects to be injured in an accident but it does happen and in our business we see it many times every day.  That’s why we work so hard to educate our clients regarding the amount of automobile insurance they should carry.  At a minimum you want to make sure you have plenty of personal injury protection as well as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Popularity: 17% [?]