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Courtesy of the Times-Picayune, a graphical representation of the widespread oil spill and where it will be affecting Louisiana in the next two days

In response to the financial hardship being faced by small business owners and employees of many different Gulf industries, BP has opened an assortment of claims offices that can help individuals looking to fill out their forms. Before visiting these sites, claimants are asked to call 1-800-440-0858.

Additionally, the Small Business Administration has opened offices where owners may discuss options available to them under the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Click here for the addresses of the claims center nearest you.

An explosion has occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on an offshore oil rig.

While details are scarce at this time, updates will be posted as they become available.

Just before dismissing several hundred Walker High students for Spring Break, local police staged a mock car crash in an effort to teach an incredibly important lesson about safety. As students were still in class they heard a loud crash over the loudspeaker. Going outside, the students saw two carloads of their classmates in a serious wreck.

A report on Baton Rouge’s WAFB Channel 9, described the scene:

Staged beside the cemetery, the side road next to the high school was blocked off. Smoke billowed from behind the cars, screams from friends and police sirens filled the air. From the looks on the student’s faces, it got their attention

Timothy J. Rogers filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Texas District Court against Marquette Transportation Co. Gulf-Inland, which is part of Marquette Transportation Company and based in Harahan.

The suit was filed on February 19th and regards injuries Rogers sustained on January 3rd while working aboard the Mary Kay. Rogers did not specify in the court documents how he was injured but states that the injuries were to his back and body. Smith blames the injuries on negligence and unseaworthiness and claims that due to his injuries he has incurred medical costs, pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement, and lost earnings.

Under the Jones Act, (46 U.S.C. § 30104) injured seaman or their survivors may obtain damages from their employers if their employers, shipowners, captains, or fellow crew members, are deemed to have been negligent or if vessels they are working on are not seaworthy. The rights afforded by the Jones Act go beyond those provided by common international maritime law because they allow injured parties to bring claims in state or federal court and entitle them to a jury trial.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon will soon issue a decision in the first federal Chinese drywall case. His judgment will greatly impact the continuing recovery for homeowners across the nation. The case, brought by seven Virginia homeowners against Taishan Gypsum Co., alleges damages resultant from poorly manufactured and corrosive Chinese drywall. At stake is more than $2.5 million in damages. Hundreds of subsequent lawsuits concerning Chinese drywall hang in the balance.

Prior to 2005, very little drywall was imported from China. After the devastation to the southeastern United States by hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, massive reconstruction efforts depleted the supply of domestically produced drywall. In order to accomplish the rebuilding efforts, it became necessary to import Chinese drywall. Since 2006, more than 550 million pounds of Chinese manufactured drywall have been imported and installed in approximately 60,000 homes in a number of different states.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has received thousands of formal complaints from citizens alleging that Chinese drywall leeched noxious substances into homes and offices. The chemicals are linked by some to be causing health problems and corrosion to metals inside walls and appliances. These complaints prompted the EPA to launch an investigation. Last spring, EPA labrotory testing confirmed that sulfur, strontium, and iron were present in samples of Chinese manufactured drywall. The tests also revealed that drywall manufactured in the United States contained no sulfur, and significantly decreased levels of strontium and iron.

A search was thrown into motion in mid February to find a missing tugboat, the Lil Au out of Houma. According to Petty Office Kevin Board of the U.S. Coast Guard, and as reported in an article on the Daily World’s website,

the 52-foot tug was pushing a 140-foot crane barge south from Jonesville on the Atchafalaya River when it struck the railroad bridge at Krotz Springs about 8 p.m. Thursday night.

Jimmy Darbonne with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, which assisted with rescue efforts, said the railroad bridge had opened to let the barge pass but the large crane on the barge struck the bridge anyway.