Houston Trial Lawyer Blog : Houston Business Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Arnold & Itkin Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Accident Claims

In 2009, Arnold & Itkin LLP's trial lawyers continued their proven track record of winning cases. In fact, the firm won more than $100 Million in verdicts and settlements last year. We plan to build on last year's success by continuing to fight for those people who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries or been harmed in bad business deals.

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In a new video released today, the business litigation law firm of Arnold & Itkin LLP addresses the importance of their work and how to choose the right lawyer to represent your business. Trial lawyers Jason Itkin and Kurt Arnold discuss what distinguishes a true trial lawyer and list some of the many types of business litigation matters the firm handles. In the video, you'll also hear from actual clients and learn why they chose Arnold & Itkin LLP to represent their business concerns.

Business litigation attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent plaintiffs in complex business disputes and victims of serious injury or harm caused by the negligence or misconduct of another person or company.

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At approximately 8:45 a.m. this morning, a massive explosion issuing from the American Acryl plant in Pasadena, TX, rocked the residents of the Houston suburbs of Pasadena, Clear Lake, Seabrook, Bacliff, Dickinson, Friendswood, La Marque, League City, San Leon and Texas City.

Officials in Pasadena and Seabrook ordered residents to remain indoors after it was discovered that the explosion was caused by a tank of toluene – a toxic petroleum byproduct used in the manufacturing of paint, adhesives, and many common household items such as hand lotion and baby diapers.

Although there were some reports of minor burns, at this time it appears as though there were no significant injuries. Company officials said they have accounted for all their employees, although two employees were taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital Southeast as a precaution due to breathing problems. One has since been released.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, toluene is a central nervous system depressant that can cause severe neurological harm. Although it is colorless, the chemical does have a distinctive, acrid smell. In low to moderate levels, toluene exposure can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, memory loss, nausea, intoxication, loss of appetite, loss of hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear soon after the exposure ends. Higher levels of toluene exposure can affect the kidneys, while prolonged, excessive exposure can cause unconsciousness and even death.

Persons in Seabrook reported a chemical smell permeating the air around 9:40 a.m.

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Virtually everyone has seen it at some point … and many have done it: sending a text message (or reading an e-mail through a mobile phone) while driving a vehicle.

It doesn’t take an attorney or judge to figure out the consequences of such an action. Reading and typing messages through a phone require several seconds of visual concentration on the phone … which automatically means that those seconds are being spent focused on something other than the road and the vehicles driving on it, or pedestrians walking nearby and crossing the road.

This past spring, a 24-year-old man took it one step further, when he admitted to text-messaging his girlfriend while operating a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) train seconds before a train accident that left more than 60 people injured. Aiden Quinn has entered a plea of not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court, but faces up to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine if found guilty of “gross negligence by a person in control of a train” … a little-known statute that rarely, if ever, has been brought into play in Massachusetts courts. Two of the victims brought individual civil lawsuits against Quinn and the MBTA.

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Truck accident lawyers Kurt Arnold and Paul Skrabanek filed suit on behalf of a man struck by an 18-wheeler truck owned by JP Steel LLC. The plaintiff was driving near Brookshire, Texas when the truck driver made an illegal turn and struck the plaintiff head on. The incident required that the plaintiff be airlifted from the scene and ultimately required that he have five screws implanted in his severely injured legs. Unfortunately, the plaintiff also suffered injuries to his chest and lungs. The suit is pending in Harris County, Texas.

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Industrial injury lawyers Kurt Arnold and Paul Skrabanek from Arnold & Itkin LLP and Brad Wyly from the Wyly Law Firm recovered $875,000 for a worker who suffered catastrophic burns to his head and body. The settlement was recovered from a major oil company and fuel delivery company. Suit arose because the delivery company and oil company delivered diesel fuel to the worker's jobsite that was contaminated with gasoline. That type of contamination renders the diesel fuel extremely volatile. Consistent with that, the worker went to check the diesel level and the diesel ignited engulfing the worker in flames. The suit was pending in the 125th District Court in Harris County, Texas before judge Kyle Carter.

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A Mississippi couple is suing USAA for refusing to pay out their $1 million homeowners claim. USAA argues the family's home was damaged by water rather than wind, which is not covered in their policy.

The home of Margaret and Magruder Corban was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Upon filing their insurance claim, they found that USAA was only willing to pay them $40,000 for wind damage and $40,000 in other coverage. The Corban's insist their home was destroyed by wind before the storm surge came through and USAA should, therefore, pay out their entire $1 million claim.

Many insurance companies maintain that their homeowners policies cover wind damage from a hurricane, but not the rising water that often comes with it. They also use overly general language like "anti-concurrent cause" to explain that damage from both wind and water are not covered by the policy.

While a Mississippi District Judge ruled this clause "ambiguous" and unenforceable in an earlier case, a New Orleans court of appeals reversed the ruling. Lawyers for USAA say the court should follow precedent and deny coverage for combined wind and water damage. The Corban's lawyer, on the other hand, says the precedent is not upheld in Mississippi due to the earlier decision and ultimate appeal outside of Mississippi.

Many insurance disputes arise from the extreme damage done to homes during hurricanes. When a home is reduced to a slab, who's to say what caused the damage, wind or water? In the Corban's case, USAA maintains the damage done to the first floor of their property was caused by water. Unfortunately, there may be no way to tell what the actual cause was for the damage.

Sidestepping Insurers

Many insurance companies use ambiguous language, technicalities, or any tactic available to free themselves from the financial responsibility they have to their policy holders. While it seems USAA may have attempted to meet the Corban's half way by paying for damage to the second story of their house, which they agree was caused by wind, the Corban's could very well deserve to be paid out for the entire house.

Aside from figuring out how to decide whether wind or water damaged a home during a hurricane, maybe insurers should be more clear in their policies about what qualifies as wind and water damage. Some insurance dispute attorneys would even argue that insurers not be allowed to specify wind damage as the only hurricane damage covered in a policy. We all know that with hurricane winds comes water, and separating the two often seems like an unfair safety net for insurers.

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In a step that has securities attorneys and law experts all praise for the Securities and Exchange Commission, former Countrywide Financial Corp. chief executive Angelo Mozilo has been charged with securities fraud.

The SEC has charged Mozilo, former chief operating officer David Sambol, and former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki with misleading investors about risks the company took to increase its market share. The three have been accused of falsely telling investors Countrywide Financial avoided underwriting risky loans. According to Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s enforcement director, Countrywide Financial promoted its image as a company that used “high underwriting standards” and was engaged in underwriting prime quality mortgages. However, behind the scenes, the company functioned recklessly, taking on high risks.  

According to the SEC, Mozilo also made $140 million selling Countrywide financial shares around the same time he, in email messages, referred to the company’s loan products as “toxic “ and “poison”. The agency, which cited these emails, says they proved Mozilo mislead investors about the company’s risky lending practices.  Mozilo has been charged with insider trading, because he sold Countrywide stock based on “non public information”.

The civil suit filed by the SEC is one of the most important filed against people involved in the mortgage crisis. Countrywide was the country’s largest mortgage lender and was heavily engaged in offering housing loans to high risk borrowers.

The company also faces a class action lawsuit filed by several New York City pension funds that have lost tens of millions of dollars because of the company's recklessness. 

The SEC, in recent years, has seen its reputation erode as a result of the financial crisis. It has been heavily criticized by securities attorneys for its failure to enforce federal securities laws. However, the agency, under new leadership, has been embarking on a campaign to clear its reputation and add more bite to its enforcement actions.

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Homeowners across the country and especially in the Gulf Coast region can look forward to a long and tough hurricane season. The reason? Homeowners are finding it harder to hold on to their hurricane insurance policies.  

Insurers across the U.S. are raising premiums and dropping coverage to limit their exposure to risks. As a result, homeowners are finding that insurance is not only more expensive, but also more difficult to get. According to the Insurance Information Institute, homeowner policy premiums have risen by 3 percent across the country. The increase is even greater in the Gulf Coast region where the impact of hurricanes tends to be maximized.

• Last year, state Farm Insurance Company and AllState Corp raised premiums in Texas, blaming a high number of hurricane insurance claims as the result of Gustav and Ike, for the increase.
• llinois-based AllState has also raised deductibles and stopped offering coverage in some coastal areas.
• State Farm Florida could soon pull out of the Florida market because it was denied its request for a 47 percent rate increase.
• According to the Insurance Information Institute, insurers have seen record losses in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida over the past five years. In these areas, premiums have risen sharply. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast between 9 and 15 named storms in 2009, including between 4 and 7 hurricanes. Of these hurricanes, between 1 and 3 will likely be major. However, forecasters are also predicting fewer hurricanes than last year. That should be good news for homeowners in hurricane-prone areas.  

Insurers Backing out of Hurricane Coverage

Insurers are blaming devastating financial losses from powerful hurricanes over the past five years, as well as the current turmoil in the financial markets, for impacting their earnings. Companies use financial investments as an additional source of income to fall back on when they have huge claims to pay out. Most of the major insurers have reported huge losses due to a decline investment income.  

For worried homeowners it does not really matter why an insurer would back out of an agreement. With insurers getting antsy about paying claims, and large numbers of Ike lawsuits still pending in the courts, we can expect more people to need insurance attorneys once November comes and the season ends.

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