McDuffie has been awarded $11.5 million in a lawsuit against his former doctor over his career-ending toe injury, according to the Associated Press. The doctor, John Uribe, used to work for the Dolphins as a team doctor. He called the damage award a travesty and will most likely appeal the decision.

The attorney for McDuffie told the news source that the award is fair compensation for his client’s lost earnings.

The lawsuit stems from the toe injury McDuffie originally suffered in 1999, which eventually forced him to retire after eight effective seasons in the NFL. Several other doctors have settled with the wideout rather than go to court.

McDuffie spent most of his playing career catching passes from Dan Marino. He was reasonably successful in this role, hauling in 29 touchdown passes in his career. His best year came in 1998 when he caught 90 passes for 1,050 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He also returned two punts for scores in his 1993 rookie campaign.

Jury selection started Monday in the trial of 29-year-old Ryan Widmer. He’s accused of killing 24-year-old Sarah Widmer at the couple’s home in August 2008.

Widmer was convicted in April 2009 of killing his wife, but the conviction was set aside by a judge after allegations of juror misconduct during deliberations.

Widmer has been free on bond while awaiting his retrial.

He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after his conviction in the first trial. Widmer has maintained his innocence, saying he loved his wife and didn’t hurt her.

BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said the company was “shocked and outraged” by the verdict and would appeal.

“We believe the evidence showed that BP did not cause harm to anyone on April 19, 2007,” Chappell said in a statement. “The verdict, and punitive damages award in particular, is utterly unjustified, improper and unsupportable.”

“They’re like an ostrich with its head in the sand,” said Tony Buzbee, the workers’ attorney, of BP. “They don’t understand the meaning of responsibility.”

The workers said they were exposed to the chemicals while repairing two refining units damaged in a plantwide 2005 shutdown prior to Hurricane Rita’s strike on the Texas Coast.

They said BP had a poorly maintained workplace and lacked sufficient monitoring to detect toxic chemicals or warn workers of a release.

BP countered that the plant did not release a toxic substance, and the company had no control over the “odor event” that stemmed from another unidentified party’s negligence.

Buzbee represents another 133 workers suing BP over the chemical release.

Originally his clients asked BP for $5,000 each in damages, Buzbee said, but went to trial when BP wouldn’t budge from a $500 settlement offer to each worker.

BP declined to discuss the settlement negotiations.

The 475,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant, the third-largest in the United States, has a troubled and costly history.

An explosion at the refinery on March 23, 2005, killed 15 workers and injured 180 others, prompting extensive civil litigation and a federal criminal plea to violating the U.S. Clean Air Act.

BP paid more than $2 billion to settle hundreds of blast-related lawsuits and a $50 million fine to resolve the criminal case.

In addition, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has imposed record fines on BP for safety violations at the plant. In 2005, BP agreed to pay OSHA $21.4 million. This year the agency fined the company another $87.4 million for failing to live up to its 2005 agreement to fix safety violations at the refinery. and BP is contesting the 2009 fine.

BP is serving a three-year probation as part of the company’s criminal penalty, and compliance with that 2005 agreement with OSHA is a key part of the probation.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is negotiating a settlement to a lawsuit that could cost BP more than $100 million for violations of pollution regulations at the refinery between 2005 and 2008.

The money was paid to employees who were injured at work.

Back injuries, road accidents and falls were among the most common type of claims supported by Unison.

A union spokesperson said in some of the instances, its members had been left with some sort of permanent disability.

Despite regaining consciousness and undergoing therapy, Ms. Lymon continues to require 24-hour care and supervision. Ms. Lymon, who was attending South Florida Community College, majoring in psychology, could speak six languages and was working as a residential aide for Florida Institute of Neurologic Rehabilitation. The injuries from the crash left her unable to care for herself. During a normal day, family members must help the woman bathe, dress, eat, go to the bathroom and do other routine tasks. She has trouble walking and sometimes requires a wheelchair. Her mother says her daughter isn’t able to speak much and that family members read to her, take her to the store and assist her with physical therapy exercises.

In 2005, Celadon Trucking agreed to pay $1.25 million to the parents of a soldier who died when his car rear-ended a tractor-trailer that stalled along a Texas highway in 2002 after its brake hose failed. The husband-wife truck driving team in that case had tried to repair a high-pressure brake hose with a toothpick wrapped with tape.

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