Originally published by texastriallawyers.
A recent report from KHOU Houston indicates that Lieut. Gov. David Dewhurst is seeking a review of safety regulations related to the fertilizer plant explosion in West.
Prior reports of news organizations have indicated that the plant that blew up in West, Texas was insured for only $1 million. 15 people died and hundreds were injured in the explosion and multiple millions of dollars of property damage to surrounding areas have been incurred.
It is noteworthy that Texas has claimed the mantle of the “anti-regulation” state and West appears to be the consequences of those actions.
Local area residents were unaware of the potential danger to themselves and their community opposed by the plant.
The moral of the story is that when regulations are not in place to keep our communities safe, unnecessary tragedies can occur. Not all government regulation is bad and in fact, some is necessary to prevent loss of life and property.
It was not long ago that the failure to regulate Wall Street and practices of some of those at Wall Street led to a disastrous financial loss for most Texas families in the stock market crash of 2008. Almost every family that had retirement plans ended up losing substantial portions of their nest eggs.
Now, politicians decry the very same regulations that were designed to prevent the stock market crash in the first place. If anything, the tragedy and West, Texas teaches us that safety regulation by governmental entities is not always bad.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
