A petrochemical plant located in Port Neches, Texas, and owned by TPC Group exploded on November 27. This tragedy occurred just one week after the EPA rolled back chemical safety regulations drafted in the wake of the West, Texas, explosion that occurred in 2013. Attorney Gale Pearson recently wrote an op-ed for the Waco Tribune-Herald about the responsibility owners of these plants have to their...

Fears Nachawati’s Jonathan Novak was among a select group of legal experts on both sides of high-profile opioid litigation invited recently to speak at New York University Law School’s Conference on the Opioid Epidemic. The gathering of legal experts representing plaintiffs and defendants shined a light on the ongoing public health crisis caused by reckless manufacturing and distribution of highly addictive opioid painkillers, as well as the status of closely...

As the nation’s focus returned to El Paso for the reopening of the Cielo Vista Walmart where 22 people died in a mass shooting, media outlets spoke with Fears Nachawati trial lawyer Brice Burris for context about ongoing litigation against the retailer. The Fears Nachawati team has joined a pre-litigation investigation on behalf of shooting victims and family members in order to fully investigate how...

If you have heard the term public client attorney, you may be wondering what that position entails. A public client attorney is a lawyer whose clients are public entities—such as state and local governments. Public client attorneys protect the legal interests of government entities, school districts, tribes and more. These highly specialized attorneys help clients defend the general public from the whims of powerful corporations...

The military contracted manufacturing company 3M for high-quality earplugs to be used by soldiers, but it has been determined that the earplugs did not keep a tight seal. This allowed dangerously loud sounds to slip through – unbeknownst to the individual wearing the earplugs. As a result, thousands of military veterans across the country have suffered hearing loss because of these defective 3M Combat Arms...

Electric scooters have started to show up on the city streets of Texas. Scooter companies such as Bird, Lime, and Blue Duck have flooded the streets of San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Austin, and El Paso with electric scooters that are available for quick rentals to get around.   While they are a convenient and fun way to maneuver around the city, they’ve also become a...

In Texas, hospitals can file a lien against patients who haven’t paid their bills. They do this to recover compensation for the unpaid bills, but not all liens are legal. Sometimes hospitals illegally file a claim or overcharge, which causes financial problems for many Texan families. In 1933, the Texas legislature passed a law to allow hospitals to recover compensation from the person responsible for...

The state of Texas has a maximum speed limit that goes as high as 85 miles per hour, but only on certain highways. The maximum speed on federal highways, state highways, roads that are maintained by a city, and toll roads can have maximum speeds of 70 miles per hour. On county roads, the maximum posted speed is usually never higher than 70 miles per...

Every day, drivers share the road with semi-trucks. We may think of them as a nuisance, even though we know they are a crucial part of American commerce. However, have you ever stopped to think about it from the perspective of a semi-truck driver? Their job certainly isn’t easy. By paying closer attention to semis, you and everyone else can get where they’re going safely....

How car insurance companies come to arrive at your rate is dependent on a variety of factors. In general, car insurance companies perform a risk assessment to determine how much to charge you. They also use a wide range of data and other reports as they formulate a quote specific to you and your vehicle. Car insurance companies look at the following information in order...

No one thinks it will happen to them, but it is possible that if you have sought care from a hospital, you might be defrauded during the billing process. While you should expect to be billed for the care that you receive, there have been countless cases where a hospital adds fraudulent charges or otherwise increases the costs. Sometimes hospitals file fraudulent liens, which means...

Drinking and driving is never a smart mix, even if you aren’t drinking excessively. Unfortunately, it happens in Texas more often than in many other states, with statistics placing Texas at #11 in the United States for incidents related to driving under the influence. Regardless, if you are pulled over for a DUI in Texas, you should know your rights, and what you should and...

Texas, along with many other states, has enacted a three-strikes law that carries a higher punishment if you have committed multiple crimes and are likely to commit crimes in the future. Texas enacted this law to keep habitual offenders in jail and make the state safer for the public. The three-strikes law in Texas is applied to certain felonies that are serious or violent. They...

In Texas, cities like Fort Worth, Allen, and Frisco have installed numerous roundabouts — intersections that are circular and controlled by yield signs instead of traffic lights and stop signs– and have many more planned. Other cities in Texas are soon to follow suit. But for many Texans, the big question is: do roundabouts really reduce accidents? Are they better than the more common four-way...

Most of us can recognize a scam, especially when it comes in the form of an offer to repair your credit. Advertisements by credit repair firms found in the local pennysaver (you know, the free ads found at your local laundry mat) promise to magically erase the negative marks from your credit reports. Like dad always advised, “If it seems too good to be true,...

In 2005, Congress changed the bankruptcy laws to include a new “means test” for consumer debtors. The purpose of the means test is to ensure that debtors are not “abusing” the bankruptcy system by unfairly discharging debts they can afford to repay. The means test is a gatekeeper for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and disqualifies certain high income debtors from Chapter 7 who can afford a...

The Bankruptcy Code separates debts into three general classes: (1) secured debts, like a house or car loan; (2) unsecured debts, like medical bills or credit cards; and (3) priority debts. Priority debts are those obligations that Congress has identified as important enough to have a special repayment status if money is distributed to creditors. The Bankruptcy Code establishes the order that unsecured claims are...

Prozac Birth Defects Raise Empirical, Legal Questions