Pine man says lawyers mishandled case
PINE - In the days following the October 1995 Bogalusa chemical spill, Preston Alsobrooks said he suffered from fever, burning skin and sinus problems.
 Pine resident Preston Alsobrooks, 67, says he has suffered poor health since the 1995 chemical spill. Advertisement |
The orange cloud of nitrogen tetroxide, released into the air after a railway car imploded, hovered in the area for few hours, but for Alsobrooks, he believes the effects are still with him.
"It still does that. I still have good days and bad days," said the 67-year-old from Pine who looks older.
The price of his agony: $193.63.
That was Alsobrooks' net share of more than $70 million that was issued out to 20,000 claimants in May 2005 - a portion of the settlement money that Gaylord Chemical was ordered to pay after a lengthy court procedure.
The gross amount of the check Alsobrooks received was actually $615, but there were several deductions: private attorney fees ($153.75), private attorney costs ($100) and liens ($167.89). In Mississippi, where Alsobrooks says his lawyer filed the case, the average claimant received a gross amount of $2,538, according to the court appointed dispersion agent. Alsobrooks was working on the north side of Bogalusa as a welder when the spill happened.
"I raised my shield up, and then there was this smoke," he said. "I didn't know what was going on."
He continued to work for about two hours - until he heard about the chemical spill.
"There's no telling how much of that stuff I breathed in," he said.
Poor health has been with him ever since.
According to Alsobrooks' 2001 medical records from LSU Bogalusa Medical Center, the man from Pine was diagnosed with severe monilia, "arteriosclerotic heart disease, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type II noninsuline dependent diabetes mellitus, history of ankylosing spondylitis or Marie-Strumpell disease, and of course chronic congestive heart failure."
Alsobrooks said he was in good health before the spill. Now, "I'm on an inhaler every night," he said.
His journey as a claimant in the spill began a few days after the October 1995 incident. Shortly after the spill, Alsobrooks visited a temporary hospital set up in Bogalusa.
It's there where he was first checked out medically and placed as a claimant on the lawsuit by his attorney Jack Harang.
"I really didn't hire him - he just took it on his own," Alsobrooks said.
But as time went on, and Alsobrooks' health worsened, he became a valuable claimant in the case.
About a year after the spill, Alsobrooks was asked to testify during a hearing held in Jackson, Miss., where he said he was asked "embarrassing" questions about the spill, his medical condition and even his sex life. His lawyer did stay in touch through mail, although Alsobrooks said he had a hard time reaching Harang.
Representatives from Harang's law firm - D'Amico, Dart, Harang - said Harang was no longer in the business and that Alsobrooks' medical records had been lost, Alsobrooks said.
When Alsobrooks heard of other claimants getting their share, he found his to be far lower.
He blames the lawyers for losing his medical records and moving him to the Mississippi court system, which doesn't allow class action lawsuits. According to officials in the case, the size of individual settlement amounts is determined by the severity of their medical injuries, which are based on medical records.
"I don't think they mishandled it. They did mishandle it," Alsobrooks said, adding his lawyer never gave him an explanation for moving his case to Mississippi, where Alsobrooks has never lived.
About 16,000 of the claimants were filed in Louisiana and 4,000 in Mississippi.
However, many of the people filed in Mississippi are actually Louisiana residents and say their lawyers filed their case in Mississippi without their permission.
Alsobrooks is working with a new lawyer to handle his case, and other claimants in the area have indicated they may file legal malpractice lawsuits against their chemical spill lawyers.
"I just hope I can get more money out of it," he said.
Two more settlement amounts, totaling more than $51 million, is still waiting a court order to be handed out.
Phone calls to D'Amico, Dart and Harang were not returned for this report.
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