In a press release issued on February 27, 2019, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that the probable cause of a fatal 2017 explosion in Millersville, Pennsylvania, was a faulty gas connection that allowed natural gas to leak into a single-family residence.

As a result of the settlement, residents can recover compensation for property damage and disruption of their lives, and businesses can be reimbursed for lost income and inventory. NiSource claims to have spent over $1 billion in response to the disaster.

Along with two accomplices, the landlord has been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for setting up an illegal gas line that caused the 2015 explosion that killed two people and injured 13 others.

A number of court cases have resulted in multimillion-dollar verdicts in favor of plaintiffs who claimed their use of Roundup, a weedkiller sold at hardware and home-improvement stores across the country, gave them cancer. However, a recent New York Times article noted that many Americans, especially farmers, continue to use the product.

The North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL) recently levied fines totaling $21,200 against PSNC Energy (PSNC) and two of its subcontractors for their actions resulting in a fatal gas-line explosion in downtown Durham last April. If you have been injured in a natural gas explosion, it is crucial that you hire an experienced attorney to protect your rights.

Blocked railroad crossings present a variety of potential safety hazards, especially in locations where the tracks are frequently obstructed for lengthy time periods. Due to blocked crossings, pedestrians may attempt to squeeze between railcars stopped on the tracks. In addition, blocked crossings create many other inconveniences for people in the surrounding community, including causing roadway congestion and making people late for work, school, and appointments.

A recent article in Bloomberg News suggested that Bayer may be close to settling over 75,000 cancer claims resulting from its sales of Roundup weed-killer after the number of claims nearly doubled since September 2019 (Bayer Roundup Deal Is Close as Claims Surge, Mediator Says). Court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg said that he is “cautiously optimistic” a comprehensive deal will be reached within the next month.

Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hogan recently announced the indefinite postponement of the ongoing Roundup cancer trial in St. Louis. The postponement news has fueled speculation that Bayer may be close to reaching a global settlement of the tens of thousands of similar Roundup cases being pursued around the world.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Bayer AG has tentatively reached an agreement on settlement terms with six law firms that represent tens of thousands of plaintiffs allegedly damaged by the use of Roundup weed killer (Bayer Advances Toward Resolving Roundup Litigation). According to sources familiar with the matter, the litigation is moving closer to a final resolution.

German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer recently agreed to pay over $10 billion to settle tens of thousands of claims that its weed killer Roundup caused cancer (Roundup Maker to Pay $10 Billion to Settle Cancer Suits). The deal is one of the largest legal settlements in United States history, involving agreements with 25 different law firms for widely varying amounts. “It’s rare that we see a consensual settlement with that many zeros on it,” said Stanford University Law School professor Nora Freeman Engstrom.

According to a recent article in the St. Louis Business Journal, Bayer’s $10.9 billion Roundup settlement may be in question after a judge expressed concerns over possible “shenanigans” by the German pharmaceutical giant (Judge casts doubt on Bayer's $10.9B Roundup settlement, fears 'manipulation').

Johnson & Johnson currently faces thousands of lawsuits filed on behalf of women who claim that the company’s iconic Baby Powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer.

According to a recent Bloomberg article, Johnson & Johnson recently reached a settlement of $2 million midway through a trial to determine the validity of a woman’s claim that asbestos in baby powder talc caused her cancer. The deal was a departure from the pharmaceutical giant’s established strategy of fighting the many thousands of other talc cases.

A New Jersey appeals court recently reversed a $117 million jury verdict in favor of a man who allegedly developed cancer as a result of long-term use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc products (Appeals court overturns $117 million Johnson & Johnson baby powder verdict). The plaintiff was awarded $37 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages in the original trial.

DBJ Law attorneys Grant L. Davis and Scott S. Bethune have been honored with inclusion on Missouri Lawyers Media POWER LIST 2021: Personal Injury Attorneys. In this latest edition of Missouri Lawyers Media’s POWER LIST, they examine the most powerful attorneys in personal injury law.