Injured - The FindLaw Accident, Injury and Tort Law Blog

Utah Refinery Explosion Ignites Safety Questions

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Silver Eagle Refinery in Woods Cross, Utah had a severe explosion that caused damage to ten homes in the area. The refinery is located five miles north of Salt Lake City.

This is the refinery's second explosion this year. The first occurred in January of this year. In that explosion, a fire had burned for 11 hours straight.

The AP reports that this current blast started in a vessel called a diesel hydrotreater which removes sulfur compounds from diesel fuel.

According to AP, federal records show that Woods Cross refinery had fires in 2003, 2005 and 2007, in addition to the two explosions this year.

Refinery Explosion Aftermath: OSHA Fines BP $87 Million

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According to CBS, the multinational oil company BP has been hit hard with a fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That fine is worth $87 million dollars.

What would cause OSHA to levy such a hefty fine? This fine comes after a six month inspection by OSHA revealed that the oil giant failed to repair hazards that were found at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas back in 2005. There were hundreds of violations stemming from those hazards.

BP failed to correct the hazards despite an explosion that occurred in 2005 at the same BP refinery in Texas City, killing 15 people.

Carrie Prejean Sex Tape Leads to Settlement

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As we wrote about earlier here on Injured, former beauty queen Carrie Prejean was sued by the Miss California USA Pageant over her breast implants.

The pageant demanded that Ms. Prejean pay back the $5,200 that it gave her in order to pay for the procedure.

The spat over breast implants came after the beauty queen's initial suit against the pageant, in which Prejean claimed that she was fired from her post out of religious discrimination.

Prejean also claimed that the Miss California USA Pageant violated her medical privacy by informing reporters of her procedure.

Now, everybody's agreed to drop all claims.

According to CNN: "The legal battle between Miss California USA pageant officials and former beauty queen Carrie Prejean ended Tuesday with an agreement to drop their claims, according to a pageant spokesman."

The whole tussle started over Carrie Prejean's controversial answer about same-sex marriage during the Miss USA beauty pageant.

Commuter Train Fire May Fan Flames of Philly Transit Strike

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The AP reported that a packed commuter train for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority caught fire in Philadelphia today.

The train was crowded more than usual because there was a city wide transit strike in progress.

Official said there are no injuries reported but the fire added to the chaos caused by the Philadelphia transit strike.

Here is a news clip of the incident:

Robber Can Sue Store that He Robbed

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It seems that tort law is on your side even when you are on the wrong side of the law. A robber wants to sue the store he robbed from.

AP reports that a "Michigan judge says a man who claims he was chased, shot and beaten by workers at a store he'd just robbed can sue the men. But only if he comes up with $10,000 within two weeks."

The robber, Scott T. Zielinski, is serving out an eight year sentence after being convicted of unarmed robbery for the November 2007 heist at Nick's Party Stop in Clinton Township which is located in Michigan.

He claims that he was chased, shot twice and beaten to a bloody pulp by three employees after he robbed the store.

MySpace Photos Scandal Spurs Lawsuit against School

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In yet another instance of digital drama, we have a lawsuit based on things posted on the internet, pitting school discipline against students' rights of expresion.

Wired Magazine reports that two teenage girls from Indiana have sued their school district after they were punished for posting provocative photos of themselves on their MySpace pages. The girls claim that the district violated their First Amendment rights and should not have punished them for activities done outside of school.

You can check out the news report here:

Texas Bus Crash Caused By Tire Puncture

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A tire puncture was found to be the cause of a deadly crash in Sherman, TX in August of 2008. The bus was heading to Carthage, MO from Houston, TX. The passengers were planning on attending a Catholic festival.

The tire on the bus blew out just as it was approaching a curve on a bridge. This caused the bus to go over the railing and fall off the bridge into a creek.

According to the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, NTSB investigators said a slow leak left the bus's tires severely underinflated, causing the blowout."

A probe by the National Transportation Safety Board discovered that a retreaded tire on the vehicle's right front axle had failed.

Sweat Lodge Lawsuit Makes Guru Break Into Sweat

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According to the AP, the first two of what will surely be a rash of lawsuits over a sweat lodge ceremony gone bad has been filed this past Friday.

Three people died during a sweat lodge ceremony lead by the infamous spiritual guru James Arthur Ray. Another 20 individuals suffered from a range of physical problems such as breathing difficulties and vomiting.

Ray and his employees allegedly stood by the door of the sweat lodge enclosure and denied participants from exiting the lodge when they felt sick.

"Hold Your Wee For a Wii" Death Brings Big Verdict

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A California jury came back with a huge verdict for the family of a 28 year old woman who died as a result of a radio contest gone bad.

According to the AP, Jennifer Strange, a mother of three children, died of acute water intoxication. She died because of her participation in a radio contest called "Hold Your Wee for a Wii."

The contest, which was held in January 2007, was to see which contestant could drink the most water without going to the bathroom.

Carrie Prejean Sued Over Breast Implants

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The former Miss California USA may have to repay $5,200 that she borrowed for her breast implants.

State pageant officials for the state of California say that they loaned the money to Ms. Prejean for the medical procedure in order to be more competitive for the Miss USA pageant.

The repayment demand came in response to a lawsuit filed by Ms. Prejean where she claims that pageant officials violated her  medical privacy by leaking to reporters that her breasts were augmented and that they paid for it.