By the Admiralty and Maritime Team
In an earlier blog post here we highlighted the facts in Island Operating Co., v. Jewell, et al., Civil Action No. 16-145, currently pending in the Lafayette Division of the Western District of Louisiana. The central issue in Island Operating is whether a contractor that provides personnel to perform…
On March 14, 2016, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed changes to the Risk Management Plan Program (“RMP”) Rule. On December 21, 2016, the EPA disclosed its changes via a Pre-Publication Copy. A series of blogs are planned to address five major changes: root cause analysis for near misses, third-party audits, inherently safer technology,…
The UK Environmental Audit Committee (a cross-party parliamentary select committee which considers how well government policies and programmes contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development) has published its report on “The Future of the Natural Environment after the EU Referendum”. The report makes a series of recommendations for actions that the Government should take during…
On March 14, 2016, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed changes to the RMP Rule . On December 21, 2016, the EPA disclosed its changes via a Pre-Publication Copy.
In the proposed rule, the EPA essentially agreed that the scope and trigger for post incident investigation was not universally understood or applied. The final rule…
Recognizing the global problem of abuse and addiction to opioids, the Louisiana Legislature and the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy have enacted legislation and regulations to provide for the prescribing, dispensing and administration of Naloxone, an opioid antagonist.
In 2014, the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation authorizing “first responders” (peace officers, firefighters, EMS practitioners) to receive a…
Although the focus and priorities of a new US EPA administration under President-elect Trump remain unclear, regulatory changes may be in the works that could require certain industrial entities to either change how they handle stormwater discharges or face lawsuits brought by environmental groups. As described more fully below, US EPA entered into a settlement…
Continuing the trend from 2015, 2016 has seen a significant number of large, public data breaches. Many of these breaches involved high-profile companies such as the Democratic National Convention, Internal Revenue Service, MySpace, Yahoo!, and Anthem. Since large corporate and government breaches typically get the most attention, many smaller, local businesses can be lulled into…
On November 29, 2016, EPA announced the first ten chemicals for which the Agency will perform a risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), as reformed by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, passed earlier this year. As part of this review, EPA will evaluate whether the chosen…
The doctrine of maintenance and cure mandates that an employer pay an injured seaman a per diem living allowance for food and lodging comparable to what the seaman was entitled to while at sea. The injured seaman is also entitled to payment of medical expenses incurred in treating an injury or illness. The duty to…
On October 19, 2016, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Guidry v. ABC Ins. Co., 2016-61 (La. App. 3 Cir. 10/19/16); — So. 3d — affirmed that a welder injured while assisting in the construction of a bulkhead in Grand Isle, LA was a seaman and that the floating mat on which he…
