News & Updates
Legal Options for Railroad Workers With Lung Cancer
If you worked as a railroader before 1982, you may have been exposed to a harmful material called asbestos. Asbestos ...
Asbestos Exposure in the Railroad Industry
As a railroad worker, you helped develop America’s economy and transportation system. Through repairs and inspections, you made sure railways ...
Railroaders with Cancer: What You Need to Know About Filing an Asbestos Claim
It is devastating to find out you have cancer due to asbestos exposure, particularly because it could have been prevented ...
5 Signs Asbestos Exposure Could Be Affecting Your Body
Are you concerned you’ve been exposed to asbestos? If you have, you may be eligible for compensation for your medical ...
I’m a Retired Railroader With Cancer. Do I have a claim?
Thousands of retired railroaders have been diagnosed with asbestos-related cancers. What’s more tragic: It could’ve been prevented. As early as ...
Malignant vs. Non-Malignant Claims
What's the difference? Many of our clients ask what is the difference between a “malignant” claim and a “non-malignant” claim. Non-malignant claims are claims ...
Asbestos on Cabooses
The railroad industry has a long history of using asbestos-containing materials, despite industry knowledge going back to the 1930s that ...
Asbestos and Cancer – The “Separate Disease” Rule
Many of our clients who have been diagnosed with asbestosis, a noncancerous scarring of the lungs, ask, “If I get ...
WATCH OUT FOR ASBESTOS-RELATED CANCERS
As early as the 1930s, many major industrial organizations were aware that exposure to asbestos could cause cancer. Despite this ...
Asbestos – A Delayed Threat
Many people ask why asbestos claims are continuing to be filed by sick and injured workers when they were exposed ...
THANK YOU and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Every year around the holidays, those of us at Sammons & Berry, P.C., pause to offer thanks to you – ...
Asbestos on Locomotives and Railcars
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – According to documents produced by BNSF Railway Company, many Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM) were installed on locomotives ...
Other Cancers Related to Asbestos
STUDIES SHOW COLON CANCER AND THROAT CANCER ARE RELATED TO ASBESTOS Most people know lung cancer is related to asbestos ...
SUPREME COURT STRIKES BLOW TO RAILROAD WORKERS
The Supreme Court of the United States recently struck a blow against railroad workers in BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrell, ...
RAILROADERS EXPOSED TO ASBESTOS DUST MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION
Every railroader who worked between 1950 and 1980 has worked around a lot of dust. What is less known is ...
Congress proposes legislation that would make doctors, nursing homes, pharmaceutical and medical devices companies immune from suit.
Each year, as many as 440,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors, making it the third leading cause of death ...
Forced Arbitration: How Corporations Use the Fine Print to Bully Americans
(Editor's note: The following reposted from www.justice.org) Buried in your credit card agreement, your employment contract, or in the click ...
Congress Seeks to Take Away Individual’s Right to Sue
Dear friends, The Republican-led U.S. Congress has recently introduced a bill designed to drastically limit the legal rights of all ...
Texas Workers Comp System Questioned After Oklahoma Ruling
by Nicole Cobler, The Texas Tribune Sept. 20, 2016 In the wake of an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision striking down part of ...
US Steel Fined $170,000 For Asbestos
WASHINGTON D.C. – Federal regulators have levied fines totaling $170,000 against the U.S. Steel Corporation for exposing workers to asbestos ...
Texas Court Literally Lets Oil Company Get Away With Death Of Worker!
HOUSTON, TX - On January 28, 2016, the Houston Court of Appeals (14th District) issued its opinion in Oiltanking Houston, L.P ...
$6.95 Million Verdict Against Union Pacific in Asbestos Case
OAKLAND, CA - An Oakland jury recently returned a $6.95 million verdict against Union Pacific in an asbestos case. The ...
Railroad Workers at Risk for Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer and Other Asbestos-Related Diseases
The railroad industry has consistently ranked among one of the most dangerous industries to work in. However, in addition to ...
IVC Filter Linked to 27 Deaths
Did Manufacturer of Medical Device Linked to 27 Deaths Ignore Safety Concerns? September 9, 2015 — An investigation by NBC News has linked ...
Bard IVC Filter Cases Transferred to MDL
On August 17, 2015, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued a transfer order directing that all Bard ...
Washington Appeals Court Upholds $4.5 Million Asbestos Verdict
SEATTLE, WA - The Washington State Court of Appeals recently upheld a $4.5 million damage award in an asbestos lawsuit ...
In Texas, Injured Workers Struggle To Be Counted
by Jim Malewitz, The Texas Tribune Oct. 2, 2015 On any given day across Texas, truck drivers might crash their vehicles, ...
Plant Explosion Near Houston – 4 Injured
PASADENA, Texas - According to reports from Pasadena police, at least four workers have been injured in an explosion at a ...
Rail Giant BNSF Accused of Telling Arbitrator: “Our Way or The Highway”
According to a recent article published by Rick Schmitt on FairWarning, a run-of-the-mill employment dispute could become a major embarrassment for ...
$750K Settlement In Auto Accident Case
AUSTIN, TX - A $750,000 settlement was recently reached in a lawsuit filed in Austin, Texas, on behalf of the ...
New Study Finds High Cancer Rates In East Harris County – Meanwhile Gov. Abbott Signs Bill Protecting Polluters
HOUSTON, TX - On June 16, 2015, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott signed legislation that would make it tougher for local ...
New Study on Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma
According to a recent article published by Steven Markowitz, M.D., Dr.PH, in Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2015; ...
Union Pacific Settles Omaha Lung Cancer Case
OMAHA, NE - Union Pacific Railroad Company recently settled a lawsuit brought against it by the widow of railroad worker ...
Fatal Truck Wreck in Houston, Texas
HOUSTON, TX: On Monday, April 27, 2015, all westbound lanes of I-10 in Houston, Texas were were closed for nearly ...
Kilgore College Will Investigate Improper Asbestos Removal Claims
Allegations have surfaced suggesting the repeated improper removal of asbestos from Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas. Two of the school's ...
$1.4 Billion Stryker Hip Implant Settlement
A global settlement was announced that will help thousands of individuals who have had complications involving their defective Stryker Rejuvenate ...
Sammons & Berry Supports A Simple Thread
HOUSTON, TX Sammons & Berry, P.C. recently donated $1,000 to "A Simple Thread", a Houston Area non-profit which helps homeless individuals ...
Railroad Asbestos Claims
OVER $30 BILLION DOLLARS have been set aside in bankruptcy trusts by the manufacturers of asbestos-containing products to compensate workers who ...
Sammons & Berry Races For The Cure
On Saturday, October 1, 2016, attorneys and staff from Sammons & Berry, P.C., participated in the "Susan G. Komen Race For ...
Jury Awards $7.5 Million to Railroad Worker With Leukemia
On September 28, 2016, a jury in Madison County, Illinois entered a unanimous verdict in the amount of $7.5 million ...
Jury Finds Talcum Powder Causes Mesothelioma – $13 Million Verdict
On April 28, 2015 a Los Angeles County Jury returned a $13 million verdict in favor of a 73-year-old woman who contracted a deadly ...
Fatal Truck Accidents Are Up 18% Since 2009
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on average there are 11 fatal truck accidents every single day in this country, killing ...
“Bad Faith” Insurance Claims in Texas
In 2006, the Supreme Court of Texas issued its opinion in Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (2006). ...
Mo. Supreme Court Rules Railroad Injury Judgment not Subject to Taxes
Click the following link for the full article: Mo. Supreme Court Rules Railroad Injury Judgment not Subject to Taxes ...
Asbestos In Railroad Locomotives, Equipment & Buildings
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - According to documents produced by BNSF Railway Company, many Asbestos-Containing Materials (ACM) were installed on locomotives and railcars. The ...
Union Pacific Lobbies Against Rail Safety Act
MARYSVILLE, KANSAS - Local news reports state that early on Tuesday morning, ten cars on an eastbound freight train derailed in ...
BNSF Railroad Worker Dies in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Kansas - a railroad worker employed by the BNSF reportedly died this morning after falling into a grain car. According ...
The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America
The American Association for Justice has recently published its listing of "The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America - How ...
Texas Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on “Medical” Slip and Fall Case
On November 5, 2014, the Supreme Court of Texas is set to hear oral arguments in Lezlea Ross v. St. Luke's ...
Protect Cancer Victims & Veterans; Tell Your Senators to Oppose S. 2319
Help protect asbestos victims’ rights by urging your U.S. Senators to oppose legislation that threatens to delay and deny justice ...
Judge Enters $3.3 Million Judgment In Favor of S&B Client
On May 9, 2014, Judge Bill Burke, 189th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas, signed and entered a judgment in ...
EPA Documents Prove Large Amounts of Asbestos At Union Pacific Railroad’s Shops in Omaha, Nebraska
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, has released numerous records documenting the presence of asbestos-containing materials at the Union Pacific ...
Don’t Let Congress Sell Your Family’s Health & Safety to the Chemical Industry.
Today at 10AM ET the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislation ...
Houston Jury Returns $4.3 Million Verdict in Favor of Injured Refinery Worker
HOUSTON, TX – On February 21, 2014, a Harris County jury returned a verdict for a little over $4.3 million ...
Injured Worker Appeals Court Order Forcing Her To Arbitrate
HOUSTON, TEXAS On November 22, 2013, Lisa Luxenburg, filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the Fourteenth Court of ...
J. Kirkland Sammons named 2013 Top Lawyer in Personal Injury by Houstonia Magazine
HOUSTON, TEXAS Sammons & Berry, P.C. Is pleased to announce that J. Kirkland Sammons has recently been named a Top ...
Mark T. Berry Named Top 100 Trial Lawyer
HOUSTON, TEXAS Sammons & Berry, P.C., is proud to announce that Mark T. Berry has recently been named on of the 100 Top ...
PROTECT ASBESTOS VICTIMS – OPPOSE H.R. 982, the FACT Act
Don’t let Big Asbestos Continue to Delay, Deny, and Lie Almost two decades ago, OSHA observed that “it was aware ...
J. Kirkland Sammons named a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Transportation
Recently named a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Transportation by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell™, "Kirk" has represented hundreds of ...
Medical Studies Question IVC FIlters
On April 8, 2013, two studies and two editorials were published in JAMA Internal Medicine, raising serious questions about the use ...
Federal Court Denies Union Pacific’s Motion for Separate Trials in Asbestos Case
TYLER, TEXAS On January 2, 2013, the Honorable Zack Hawthorne, United States Magistrate, Eastern District of Texas, entered an order ...
Court Holds Texas Asbestos Statute Preempted by FELA
HOUSTON, TEXAS On July 19, 2012, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals entered its majority opinion in The Kansas City Southern Railway ...
FDA Issues Warnings Regarding Bard IVC Filters
WASHINGTON D.C. - On August 9, 2010, after receiving more than 900 reports of problems, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ...
Big Oil Pressured Scientists Over Fracking Wastewater’s Link to Quakes
According to a recent report published by Bloomberg, e-mails reveal a pattern of industry pressure on scientists at the Oklahoma Geological ...
Blowout! – Big Rigs Going Faster Than Tires Can Handle.
According to a recent article by the Dallas Morning News many tractor-trailers on the nation’s roads are driven faster than the 75 ...