Blog
The Barnett Shale and Eagle Ford Shale regions in Texas are heavily exploited for natural gas that exists deep within the rock. The process used to extract natural gas is dangerous for workers and may be hazardous to nearby residents and the environment. Read about private well contamination linked to Barnett Shale exploration and confirmation […]
Last year saw a record number of prescription and over-the-counter drug recalls, 1,472 different types in all. That number is four times the number of drugs recalled in 2008. While it is difficult to attribute the increase in defective and dangerous drugs to a single reason, the overseas manufacture of medications, the increase in prescription […]
Many people have heard about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), but few realize how common these injuries are in the United States. Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that an estimated 52,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of a TBI. Another 275,000 are hospitalized and […]
Oil and gas pipeline work is extremely dangerous – particularly in Texas. According to the National Wildlife Federation, since 2000 the state has been tied with New Mexico for the most pipeline accident fatalities in the country. In that time, there have been over 500 pipeline accidents around the state, resulting in 15 deaths and […]
The state of our nation’s aging natural gas infrastructure has become a major concern in light of the recent string of pipeline explosions. Places like Allentown, Pennsylvania and San Bruno, California have seen firsthand the catastrophic aftermath of natural gas pipeline disasters. And, with 1.8 million miles of gas delivery lines veining the earth beneath […]
Large commercial trucks present a unique danger to other drivers on the road. Because of their size, they are less maneuverable and require a longer distance to come to a stop than other vehicles. The size and weight of eighteen-wheelers, tractor trailers and other large trucks leaves little room for error: when a truck hits […]
When a passenger vehicle is involved in an accident with a large commercial truck, the results can be devastating. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2009, the last year for which statistics are available, 70 percent of the roughly 3,000 people who died in accidents with tractor trailers were the occupants […]
When the morning-sickness drug thalidomide was introduced in the 1960s, little was known about how medication could affect a developing fetus. But when more than 10,000 babies were born with missing or shrunken limbs, medical experts quickly realized that drugs ingested by women during pregnancy can have powerful and potentially devastating consequences for their unborn […]
Products qualifying as medical devices are required to undergo a rigorous review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before being sold. However, some medical devices marketed in the past, or currently promoted, pose dangers to patients because of poor testing and flawed FDA review. Transvaginal mesh (TVM) slings are among the defective products the […]
Work related deaths in Texas more than doubled for contractors between 2011 and 2012, according to a recent government report. The report, “Revisions to the 2012 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) Counts,” by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that the number of contractors fatally injured on the job in the United States […]