Wrongful Death Attorneys Texas

Houston Lawyers Say South Texas Gas And Oil Boom Has Dark Side: Injury And Illness

A recent news article shows that an oil and gas boom from the south Texas Eagle Ford shale also has its costs, including water contamination and other environmental issues, Houston personal injury and property damage lawyer Kurt Arnold said today.

According to the Associated Press article published this week about the south Texas oil and gas boom , horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing — also called “fracking” — have created an economic frenzy similar to an Old West-style gold rush in communities around Cotulla, Texas, about 90 miles south of San Antonio.

“While the money and people pouring into these impoverished communities might seem like a good thing at first, experience elsewhere has shown that fracking operations have a very high price tag in terms of illnesses, injuries, reduced quality of life and environmental destruction,” said Arnold, a partner of the Houston law firm of Arnold & Itkin LLP.

Fracking involves injecting millions of gallons of pressurized water mixed with sand and a chemical cocktail deep into underground shale formations. The mixture breaks up the rock, making oil and natural gas accessible.

Jason Itkin, also a Houston personal injury and property damage attorney with Arnold & Itkin, said that fracking poses several hazards to the community, including the withdrawal of millions of gallons of drinking water from the water table. He said contamination can also result from the chemicals infiltrating water sources that people use for cooking, cleaning and drinking.

“We have seen cases across the country where this toxic brew of chemicals seeps into the groundwater, making residents’ wells dangerous to drink from. Tap water has become so polluted with methane at some houses that people have set their water on fire,” Itkin said.

An April 2011 study released by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce evaluated some of the substances that companies have used in fracking.

The study identified 29 chemicals that it called “compounds of concern.” Some are proven or possible carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents, while the federal government has listed others as hazardous water or air pollutants.

“The companies that use these toxic substances must be held accountable when residents get sick with neurological, gastrointestinal, cancerous and other illnesses from exposure to tainted water,” said Arnold, the Houston personal injury lawyer .

Recent Texas Wrongful Death Accidents | Texas Wrongful Death Lawyer

When you stop to think about it – the loss of life from semi-truck and automobile accidents is staggering. Yet, fatalities accidents occur daily in and around the state of Texas and across the country. Perhaps the worst part about it is that most are avoidable. Consider the following collisions that resulted in at least one death.

A teenage boy was riding in a church van last weekend when it blew a tire in caring for your vehicle (especially the tires).