Many plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a coal ash spill that occurred in December 2008.

The plaintiffs had one year to file their lawsuit for personal injury claims.

According to the New York Times, the spill occurred at the Kingston Fossil Plant about 40 miles west of Knoxville.

The wall to an ash pond at the plant gave way, making the water rush out and flood around 5.4 million cubic yards.

The ash pond was located near the Emory River surrounded by a residential area. Three homes were allegedly destroyed by the spill.

River water was tested after the incident, and the samples showed high levels of lead and thallium. According to TVA spokesman John Moulton, these have been known to cause birth defects as well as nervous and reproductive system disorders.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the iron and manganese in the water exceeded the secondary drinking water standards.

The EPA governs the taste and odor of drinking water but not health effects.

The Associated Press reported that the spill has generated more than 20 federal lawsuits.

TVA stated they provide a government service and should be immune from these injury damage claims.
Attorney John Agee is representing clients in 28 different lawsuits against TVA.

Agee stated an administrative agency should be set up to handle the injury claims. He said that these types of agencies have been set up before with disputes over government entities and workplace injuries.

He claims that over 200 plaintiffs are seeking damages from injuries suffered from the spill.

TVA has paid Kingston and other neighboring communities a total of $43 million and agreed to pay settlements to owners of 150 pieces of property.

One suit filed by the Duncan family states they suffered injuries from the spill. They suffered from nosebleeds, frontal headaches, shortness of breath, chest pains and wheezing.

The family lives two to three miles away from the plant, but trucks pass by their house on a daily basis. The trucks are filled with ash as they are continuing the clean up process.

The Duncans are suing TVA for gross negligence and seek $1 million in compensatory damages for their personal injuries. They are also seeking additional punitive damages at an unspecified amount.

Agee stated that TVA has not offered to pay the family anything.

Cleanup for the plant is expected to last until 2013.

The holidays are notorious for being a hectic and dangerous time of the year to travel - but this year across many areas of the country, the weather conditions are adding to the danger on the roads.

According to a Weather Channel report, this holiday storm will primarily affect states west of the Mississippi River - with severe snow in Iowa, Nebraska and Montana. Reports call for snow, ice and rain over the next several days.

Illinois and Indiana will also be affected by a winter storm system, the Weather Channel reported.

Roads are already over-crowded during the holidays with people traveling to their holiday destinations - with this added factor of especially bad weather, it’s important to be extra careful to avoid any car accidents.

Car accidents are a leading cause of personal injury in the U.S. Keep your family and friends - and other drivers - safe this holiday by taking extra care when you’re on the road. Watch for ice, drive carefully, and have a happy holiday!

According to a New York Times article, Phillip Morris recently paid former smoker – Lucinda Naugle - $300 million in the state of Florida because of lung injuries she suffered.

As a result of her years of smoking she needed a lung transplant, and she sued the tobacco company as a result.

In the state of Florida, smokers can no longer file class action lawsuits due to a state Supreme Court ruling back in 2006. But the ruling also made it so that smokers who do file individual lawsuits have less to prove.

The Florida Supreme Court ruling made it easy to pursue tobacco lawsuits in the state. In the 2006 trial, the Supreme Court rejected a class action lawsuit for $145 million. The ruling stated smokers needed to file individually.

Even though the plaintiffs lost the lawsuit, the Florida Supreme court stated with individual lawsuits the individual has fewer burdens of proof.

The court stated plaintiff’s do not have to prove the following: nicotine is addictive, smoking causes disease, and that cigarette companies fraudulently hid these facts from the public.

In the case of 61-year-old Lucinda Naugle, she was awarded $56 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages for suffering from lung injuries.

Naugle started smoking when she was 20, and quit smoking when she was 45 years old.

According to her lawyer – Robert W Kelley - Naugle suffers from “severe emphysema and needs a lung transplant that she cannot afford.”

The jury placed 10 percent liability on Naugle for choosing to smoke, thus causing her to suffer from lung injuries.
Law experts’ claim this verdict may open up the door for future lawsuits against tobacco companies.

Plaintiffs from the 2006 class action lawsuit have begun to file separate lawsuits from suffering their injuries.

The Altria Group - Phillip Morris’ parent company - claims it will appeal the verdict and that they do not agree with the state’s rules as they were “fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional.”

Spokesman for the Altria Group - Brendan J. McCormick - stated the company believes the federal court will reject Florida’s “standards of proof.”

The company is confident they will win the appeal. The counsel for Phillip Morris stated, “We believe that the punitive damages award is grossly excessive and a clear violation of constitutional and state law.”

So far this verdict is the largest sum awarded a smoker in a Florida state lawsuit against the tobacco companies, the New York Times reported.

Personal injuries don’t just happen on icy patches of sidewalk. Every year, thousands of people across the world are seriously injured and even killed by the wild creatures of the animal kingdom. Animal attacks may be more common than you think.

Check out these stats on personal injury in the wild and see which animal attacks are the most dangerous. Also, learn about domestic dog attacks, dangerous aquatic animals and what to do when you encounter a grizzly bear.

Personal injury statistics

Add this infographic to your site:
<a href=”http://www.totalinjury.com/blog/personal-injury-in-the-wildpersonal-injury-in-the-wild/” mce_href=”http://www.totalinjury.com/blog/personal-injury-in-the-wildpersonal-injury-in-the-wild/” target=”_blank” title=”Personal Injury Statistics”><img title=”Personal Injury in the Wild” src=”http://www.totalinjury.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/inj_infographic.jpg” mce_src=”http://www.totalinjury.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/inj_infographic.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Personal Injury Statistics”></a>