Neblett, Beard & Arsenault’s senior partner, Richard J. Arsenault, is featured in the new issue of Trial Magazine.  In the article, “Gulf Coast Oil Spill Litigation Moves Into Discovery Phase,” Richard was interviewed by Allison Torres Burtka about his involvement in the wake of April 2010′s devastating BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill. Arsenault and his partners represent victims throughout the Gulf Coast who have suffered serious, economic losses from the spill.

Arsenault is among a group of attorneys who have been working with claims administrator, Kennth Feinberg, and the unprecedented $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility set up by BP and the Obama administration.  This avenue may offer faster compensation, but it may also mean waiving your right to sue BP.  Arsenault is explaining these options to his clients in this “already extraordinary case.”

Read the article here.

According to news sources, at least 3 adults have died and approximately 10 students have been injured after an 18-wheeler collided with 2 school buses in Calhoun County, Mississippi.

Public officials told NBC News that the 18-wheeler sideswiped one school bus and hit another head-on, though an official report has not been released.

The buses were transporting high school seniors from Choctaw County, Mississippi on a class trip to Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.  Two teachers and the driver of the 18 wheeler are believed to have been killed in the wreck.

Richard Arsenault, senior partner in Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal today and appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog over plans to seek compensation for victims of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill from the $20 billion oil spill fund, rather than proceeding with potentially lengthy litigation against BP and other parties.

Arsenault and a partner in his law firm, JR Whaley, are among a group of approximately 30 lawyers who are moving their clients’ claims through the oil spill fund.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Arsenault told the Journal’s Dionne Searcy.
The fund, which is administered by Ken Fienberg , and was set up by BP and the Obama administration, has already paid out $3.35 billion dollars to victims of the spill.

Victims of the oil spill are now deciding whether to opt for potentially quicker compensation through the oil spill fund, or to take their claims through the court system. Victims who seek compensation through the oil spill fund will be barred from filing a lawsuit, and may forfeit future damages that may be awarded by a court.

For many victims, waiting for a courtroom decision may not be possible. Daniel Becnel, a lawyer in Arsenault’s group, explained that many victims need compensation now to avert financial ruin and may not be capable of waiting for a result through litigation.

On Friday, January 14^th, Richard J. Arsenault chaired HarrisMartin Publishing’s Darvon/Darvocet Recall Litigation Conference in New Orleans.  Arsenault oversaw and helped organize the legal conference, which attracted nearly 20 speakers and 100 attorneys from across the country.

A veteran of class action and complex litigation, Arsenault’s firm is actively involved in the pending lawsuits against the makers of the recalled painkillers, and continues to investigate additional claims.

Darvon, Darvocet and other forms of propoxyphene where pulled from the U.S. market by the FDA in November 2010 because of serious, potentially fatal heart-related problems and overdose risks, which were determined to outweighed the drugs’ benefit.

Neblett, Beard & Arsenault is pleased to announce that two of their attorneys, Richard J. Arsenault, and David O. Walker, have been selected for inclusion in 2011 Super Lawyers by Law & Politics Inc. and Louisiana Life magazine.

Louisiana Super Lawyers are designated through a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process that incorporates peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5% of lawyers in Louisiana receive this prestigious acknowledgment.

Arsenault and Walker have been selected for inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers each year since 2007. They are recognized for their professional contributions in the areas of personal injury litigation and mass tort/complex litigation.

Officials are investigating the cause of a Saturday afternoon plane crash that killed 3 people and seriously injured 2 more.  According to the FAA, witnesses reported seeing the Cessna 182 take off from LeGros Memorial Airport in Estherwood, near Lafayette, Louisiana before it touched down and burst into flames. 4 of the victims are from Louisiana, the other is from Texas.

The cause of the crash in under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, FAA and Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

After more than 30 deaths associated with dangerous, drop-side cribs, the government has banned their manufacture, sale and re-sale. The CPSC voted unanimously to outlaw these cribs, which feature a slide rail that moves up and down and can create a space where an infant can become entrapped and suffocate. Over the past decade, these cribs have been blamed for 32 deaths and suspected in another 14 deaths.

The CPSC says that new crib standards will assuredly reduce the number of injuries and deaths associated with cribs. The new standards, hailed a “the strongest in the world,” will demand tougher safety testing and better labeling aimed to reduce instances of crib misassembly.

Having represented a family who lost an infant in a drop-side crib, we know firsthand the damage and trauma these dangerous cribs pose. Kudos to the CPSC for taking this bold step to help protect other families from this senseless tragedy.

Attorney Richard J. Arsenault, a founding partner of Neblett, Beard & Arsenault, recently chaired the Class Action/Mass Tort Symposium in New Orleans. The conference, which attracts attorneys, professors and federal judges from across the country, is hosted by the Louisiana State Bar Association and celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

Arsenault, who has extensive experience navigating class action and complex litigation, has been involved with the planning and organization of this conference each year since its inception.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, as many as 3 oil workers may have bee in injured when the well they were working on caught fire this morning.

The accident happened approximately 20 miles southeast of New Orleans on Louisiana Delta Oil Co.’s Grosse Tete work-over rig.

The gas well was inactive at the time of the fire, and the Coast Guard is not reporting pollution at this time.

The popular, yet controversial, painkillers Darvon and Darvocet have been pulled from the market at the request of the FDA. New evidence has linked propoxyphene, the active ingredient in Darvon, Darvocet and their generic counterparts, with increased risk of serious, potentially fatal heart problems.

The FDA has determined that the drugs’ benefits do not outweigh the serious risks associated with the medications’ side effects, which include heart rhythm abnormalities. Even when taken at recommended doses by healthy patients, the propoxyphene in Darvon and Darvocet can still cause changes in the electrical activity of the heart that can cause serious problems, including sudden death.

Darvon was first introduced to the US market in 1957. However, concerns over the drug’s serious side effects led consumer group, Public Citizen, to petition the FDA in 1978 and 2006 to remove the drug from the market. Darvon and Darvocet have been banned in the UK since 2005, and were banned in Europe over a year ago. Public Citizen estimates that as many as 1,000-2,000 US deaths have been linked to Darvon and/or Darvocet since the drugs were banned in England over 6 years ago.

Our drug injury lawyers know firsthand the pain and suffering that can be caused by unsafe pharmaceuticals. Our firm represented hundreds of Vioxx victims, and our senior partner, Richard J. Arsenault, played a central role in the national litigation against Merck. We’ve been working hard for victims of dangerous drugs for nearly thirty years, and are currently investigating claims on behalf of victims of Darvon, Darvocet and generic propoxyphene painkillers.