Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate - Dedicated to Injury Victims and their Family Members throughout Oklahoma

Halliburton Company, a multi-billion dollar corporation based in Houston, Texas, recently admitted to and accepted liability for the contamination of at least 18 water wells located primarily on the north side of Duncan, Oklahoma.  Halliburton’s admittance came soon after the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality released a report detailing their findings of perchlorate, a colorless salt that constitutes a serious threat to public health, in water near the Halliburton North Facility on Osage Road.  The contamination occurred when Halliburton cleaned out missile casings under a contract with the Department of Defense.  A primary component of the rocket fuel used in the missiles is ammonium perchlorate.  The North facility ceased operations in 1991, nearly thirty years after the contamination began in 1965.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously warned against perchlorate in drinking water if the water contains 15 ppb (parts per billion) or higher.  Shockingly, the water wells measured near Duncan have reportedly measured perchlorate amounts as high as 27 parts per billion. 

Tragically, the residents of Duncan are now feeling the effects of Halliburton’s carelessness.  Perchlorate adversely affects humans by interfering with iodine uptake into the thyroid gland.  Recent studies show that exposure to perchlorate can result in the development of severe hypothyroidism which can lead to multiple, and perhaps life-threatening health problems such as thyroid cancer, goiter, breast disease, disruption of the menstrual cycle, immune system dysfunction, heart disease and infertility.  However, studies show that those most at risk to perchlorate in contaminated drinking water include children and pregnant women.  Perchlorate toxicity can be responsible for poor fetal development, mental retardation of newborns, an increased risk of cognitive and developmental problems, or, in more severe cases, cretinism and birth defects.

The Oklahoma law firm of Nix Law Group, PLLC is currently investigating and assisting the families of individuals who have suffered severe health complications, including the development of thyroid cancer, severe hypothyroidism and other serious thyroid problems resulting from the perchlorate contamination in Duncan.          

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those needlessly affected by Halliburton’s contamination of private water wells in Duncan.  All attorneys at Nix Law Group were born and raised in Oklahoma small towns much like Duncan.  If you or anyone you know may have been affected by this tragic and senseless endangerment of public health, please contact a Nix Law Group attorney today. 

For more information on the Duncan, Oklahoma, Water Well Contamination Cases, please visit and "Like" our firm's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nixlawgroup or Follow our firm on Twitter @NixLawGroup. We update these profiles regularly to keep our clients informed of all related developments.

I love Oklahoma.  I love the people of Oklahoma, all of them.  The hard-working men and woman, the elderly-who have paved the way for us and the children-who we are grooming to carry on the legacy for our state’s future. 

I love the idea of democracy and freedom.  This great country of ours’ was founded based on principles…certain unalienable rights that are bestowed upon all of us-- The principle that us all, whether white or black, rich or poor, republican or democrat, should be treated equally and be allowed to play on a level playing field.  In turn, our political system, the 3 branches of government, should continue to exemplify this ideal and support our efforts to uphold it.  Unfortunately, politics in Oklahoma has deteriorated into a power struggle for control of money and resources as opposed to an effort to embody the principles of freedom, equality and justice. 

Like many of us, I am disgusted by the ugly politics and lack of civility that has invaded government.  Party lines are now clearly drawn, as both sides teeter for control of a system that is now broken due to the power of special interests. Special interests have infested our politics to the point now there is no way to differentiate between two.  Oklahoma politics are no different.  Money talks. 

The Chamber, big business, big insurance and big oil have a tight grip on this State and the brass of the current leadership of the Oklahoma Republican party.  Don’t take my word for it?  Let the evidence speak for itself.  Look at the campaign finance reports for Oklahoma’s current GOP leadership, they read like a who’s who of Oklahoma’s business community, the super-rich and the PACS (Political Action Committees) formed by the special interests that now dictate Oklahoma politics. 

Unfortunately, this influence of the money and power of big business and corporations has infected Republican leadership and convinced them to pursue policy changes that do nothing to protect or assist the general public, but act only to further enrich and empower the voracious and self-serving interests of Corporations and Insurance Companies.  One disturbing example of special interests’ invasion into democracy is taking place in Oklahoma right now---with the efforts of a chosen few to force more so-called “tort reform” on the people of Oklahoma.  

Tort Reform (as it is called) is the effort by the Big Business wing of the Republican party (at the direction of the corporations who fund their political campaigns and reelections) to invade the sanctity of the judicial branch and legislate in the court room by taking away the autonomy of the civil jury and dictating how juries must decide cases and what evidence is and is not allowed to come in to evidence at trial. 

• Politicans want to place an arbitrary, one-size-fits all hard cap of $250k on the amount of damages a civil jury can award a catstrophically injured Oklahoman for the rest of his or her lifetime no matter how severe the injuries and no matter how disgusting, reckless and wanton the conduct of the negligent Defendant. 
• GOP Idealogs claim hard caps "deter frivolous lawsuits."  This is a BLATANT LIE.  Frivolous lawsuits never see the light of day in Oklahoma.  Numerous laws already in place require Expert Reports before lawsuits can be filed.  Moreover, Hard Caps do nothing to prevent minor injury lawsuits from being filed.  What arbitratry hard caps do cause---is for people with legitimate, long term catstrophic injuries (a brain injured child or a blinded teenager or a badly burned stay-at-home mom or a nursing home resident who is beaten to death and raped in his nursing home by a bad employee) from obtaining full and fair compensation for their injuries. 
• Non-economic damages are meant to serve as a deterence to Corporations and individual and ensure that our highways, schools, airports, public transportaion, workplaces, products, etc.) are SAFE.  CAPS ELIMINATE THIS DETERENCE and actually give corporations, bad doctors, bad nurses, truck drivers, etc. a free license to run amuck in our state with no fear of every being punished above 250k.  (which is like a parking ticket to many multi-million dollar businesses, corporations and insurance companies)
• Further, Policitians want to tip the scales of justice in favor of negligent defendants by giving a negligent tortfeasor's insurance company and CREDIT for any collateral source of insurance an injured Oklahoman has in awarding damages. 
• In other words, if you are horribly injured in a trucking accident and have $150k in medical bills--the jury gets to know your health insurance company paid part of the bills, that part was written off and that part came out of your pocket.  Meanwhile, the fact that the negligent trucking company, hospital, oil and gas company etc. has millions of dollars in liability insurance will remain hidden from the jury. 
• Even more disturbing, if you had the forsight to purcahse disability insurance or life insurance (in the case of a wrongful death case)--the negligent corporation's liability insurance company will also get a credit for that insurance money (even though it is from another seperate insurance company).  In other words, everyone benefits in this equation (the insurance companies and negligent defendants) EXCEPT THE ONE WHO SHOULD---THE CATASTROPHICALY INJURED OKLAHOMAN.

Our civil justice system is built on a principle of a balance of power and a weighing of the evidence to determine fault, liability and damages.  The scales of justice illustrate this ideal.  Our court system has successfully existed for hundreds of years built around the JURY.   The Jury being a group of citizens like you and me who are entrusted to hear the evidence of a particular case and work together to render a fair and reasoned verdict.  Now, however, politicians, not jurors, will decide the amount of damages to award in civil cases involving human injury and death by forcing upon a one-size fits all law that caps the maximum damages at $250,000.00 and decreases any economic damages awarded (medical bills, future medical bills, disability, loss of earnings, etc.) by the amounts of any collateral source of compensation that exists to pay part of them. 

In other words, “tort reform” serves to cripple the very purpose of the jury system—to leave it to the people to decide the damages to render against a defendant who has been found to be negligent, reckless or wanton in its conduct and, as a result, caused harm to another person---by taking away the right of jurors (OKLAHOMA CITIZENS) to fairly decide legal disputes.

I for one stand with the people of Oklahoma and their constitutional right to a fair jury trial by the people...not politicians.  With "tort reform"---Special Interests are completing the trifecta of infecting all 3 branches of government with their greed and self-serving influence.  Meanwhile, the citizens of Oklahoma stand by, unknowlingly, while their rights are taken away by corrupt politicans whose only motivation is to satisfy their biggest campaign donors (i.e., BIG BUSINESS/BIG INSURANCE) so they can hope to get relected. 

Sad but true. 

Politics as usual in this State cannot be allowed to continue.  The very rights to which each of us is entitled now hang in the balance. 

Studies estimate that on any given day, nearly 1,000 people visit an emergency room as the result of a dog bite.  While most attacks are not fatal, the facts actually show that 23 people died from dog bite wounds in 2008 in the United States.  The year before, the number had  skyrocketed to 33 deaths as a result of vicious dog attacks in the U.S. in 2007.   

Children are especially at risk for dog bites.  One of the biggest threats for childhood injury comes actually comes from “man’s best friend”.  In fact, dog bites are the fifth most common cause of visits to the emergency room for children in our country.  While adolescents are at a much higher risk for dog bites because of their curiosity, people of all ages are bitten daily and some suffer severe, disfiguring injuries. 

In Oklahoma, no negligence or intent is required for legal liability to the victims of dog bites.  We are a statutory strict liability state when it comes to dog attacks, which means dogs don't get "one free bite" in Oklahoma and dog owners are fully responsible all injuries caused by their dogs.  Our dog bite laws clearly state that:

The  owner of any dog shall be liable for damages to the full amount of any damages sustained when his dog, without provocation, bites or injures any person while such person is in or on a place where he has a lawful right to be. 

Even if the dog is not known to be dangerous and has never displayed signs of hostility before, the owner is still liable for the full amount of medical bills and other damages caused by the bite.   Normally, the dog owner's homeowner's insurance is responsible for paying on injury claims from dog attacks.  Oklahoma dog bite laws state that if an attack happens while the victim is legally on private property (as an invited guest, to deliver mail, etc.) or, even while on public property, the owner is typically liable, as long as the victim was not intentionally and repeatedly antagonizing or provoking the animal. 

Many drivers today possess a profound fear of semi-trucks, and with good reason.  These motor vehicles can weigh over 40 times more than the common passenger cars.  Despite strict regulations from both federal and state government entities, some trucking companies and drivers continue to employ incompetent drivers who continually operate their trucks in violation of applicable safety rules and reulgations and at unsafe speeds, especially in hazardous conditions such as rain, snow, ice and fog.   

Approximately 5,000 people die and 130,000 people are injured each year as a result of trucking accidents in the United States.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a database of all fatality motor vehicle crashes in the U.S.  It is called the FARS, the Fatality Accident Reporting System.  Here are some stunning statistics from the site: 

• there were 4,066 fatality accidents in the U.S. in 2008 involving large trucks
• 46% of those crashes involved head-on impact, the most harmful type of crash
• 13.5% of fatality trucking crashes in 2008 involved roll-over accidents
• The average number of deaths from fatal trucking crashes in the US since 1994 has hovered around 5,000 a year

In addition to the number of deaths involving semi-trucks, numerous crashes result in catastrophic injury.  In 2008, 77,000 crashes involving a large truck resulted in injury.  Adjusted for a 2005 dollar amount, on average, each traffic accident involving a large truck cost $91,112.

One reason for the fear of large semi-trucks on the highway is the national sentiment that trucking companies often cut corners to turn profits and force their drivers to drive more and more miles on less and less rest and with less and less safety regulation and enforcement. 

For example, over 3 million truck drivers were inspected in 2006 which resulted in over 200,000 drivers receiving an out-of-service violation.  An Out-of-service is an order given by a federal or state official when a driver or truck is in violation of one or more significant safety regulations required by law.  Violations of safety regulations serious enough to warrant an out-of-service order are considered a high safety risk to all motorists.  Drivers or trucking companies who receive out-of-service violations can be prohibited from operating commercial vehicles for a specific time period or until the violation is corrected. 

Regulations that, in violation of, could warrant an out-of-service order for truck drivers include the age of the driver, the lack of an up-to-date CDL, fatigue, number of driving hours in a specific time period, and drug/alcohol abuse.  Furthermore, of the over 2 million trucks were inspected in 2006, 23.7% of those commercial vehicles received an out-of-service violation.  Startlingly, this means approximately 550,000 trucks were operating on our roadways in violation of government safety regulations.  

For more information on trucking laws and regulations, visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website or the National Transportation Safety Board. See also the American Association of Justice (AAJ) 2009 Report on Trucking Safety (PDF). 

We are pleased and proud to announce the launch of a new personal injury law information and resource blog in Oklahoma, Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate. 

The Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate will provide its readers and subscribers with regular information, updates and commentary relating to all issues affecting personal injury and wrongful death law.  In addition, this blog’s authors will act as activists for the legal and constitutional rights of the victims of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death and their families in Oklahoma and nationwide. 

This informational legal blog is authored by the experienced attorneys of Nix Law Group, PLLC, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  With the Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate, Nix Law Group hopes to provide the general public with a portal for cutting-edge developments and information relating to all issues of personal injury law. The Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate (“OILA”) will cover a broad spectrum of issues and will provide its readers with breaking news updates and coverage of important topics in the legal world.  OILA will also incllude important commentary, coverage and insights into the practice of law, developments in law that affect your rights, politics, media, current events, society and all other issues relating to serious personal injury and wrongful death law in Oklahoma. 

The Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate will be regularly updated with detailed information, resources and commentary for all Oklahomans.  OILA will also provide legal professionals and individuals seeking a better understanding of Oklahoma injury law with articles, important links and other valuable resources and information.  Lastly, our legal blog will provide its readers with outspoken advocacy and viewpoints dedicated to protecting the rights of the victims of preventable injury and death and their access to justice from negligent defendants and their powerful insurance company and corporate allies.

We invite you to become a subscriber or follower of The Oklahoma Injury Law Advocate and to comment on our blog posts with constructive responses, remarks or additional information or insights.