--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was an injured worker finding a lawyer…" description: "\"It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top off one of the greatest industrial disasters ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png" --- # It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent… ![“It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top off one of the greatest industrial disasters in American history.” quote by Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png) > “It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top off one of the greatest industrial disasters in American history.” [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A small legal case in Texas exposed a massive industrial disaster, showing how grassroots legal action can uncover hidden catastrophes. **In simple terms:** A local lawyer case a huge disaster. Key Takeaway Support vigilant legal oversight. Themes justice corporate accountability environment public safety Mood alert determined Type cautionary inspirational When to use this quote - legal advocacy - community activism - regulatory reform Key Concepts contingent fee law whistleblowing media exposure Questions to Reflect On - How can communities better support whistleblowers? - What safeguards protect against corporate negligence? A Different Perspective Legal victories can be limited by resource constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disasters American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disasters-american-4642851/) [Fees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fees/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Industrial Disasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industrial-disasters-4642848/) [Injured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injured/) [Injured Worker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injured-worker-4642850/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Little towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-towns/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Texas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/texas/) [Texas Blew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/texas-blew-4642849/) [Town Texas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/town-texas-303368/) [Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up in a pretty small town in Texas, population 8,000, and we had a lot of open spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eads/i-grew-up-in-a-pretty-small-town-in-texas-population-8-000-and-we-had/) [George Eads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eads/) > [Fort Worth is friendly; it's still a Texas town. It's the most Texas city in Texas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/fort-worth-is-friendly-it-s-still-a-texas-town-it-s-the-most-texas/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [I grew up in a tiny town in Texas, so I understood the world of high school football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-plemons/i-grew-up-in-a-tiny-town-in-texas-so-i-understood-the-world-of-high/) [Jesse Plemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-plemons/) > [I didn't sing for years and years, but I started playing harp when I was maybe 9 or 10. I had actually wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-didn-t-sing-for-years-and-years-but-i-started-playing-harp-when-i/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [There are three necessary elements in a story - exposition, development, and drama. Exposition we may illustrate as "John Fortescue was a solicitor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-connor/there-are-three-necessary-elements-in-a-story-exposition-development/) [Frank O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-connor/) > [If I just think of the churches in my little town here because I've been to every one of them, there are 27, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/if-i-just-think-of-the-churches-in-my-little-town-here-because-i-ve/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [0 little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/0-little-town-of-bethlehem-how-still-we-see-thee-lie-above-thy-deep/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [In little towns like mine that's all they got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/in-little-towns-like-mine-that-s-all-they-got/) [Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/) > [I once gave a workshop and I asked the women poets there, If you went back to that little town you've come from -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eavan-boland/i-once-gave-a-workshop-and-i-asked-the-women-poets-there-if-you-went/) [Eavan Boland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eavan-boland/) > [There are these little towns outside of L.A. Once you get an hour and a half, two hours out, you get into these little,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manganiello/there-are-these-little-towns-outside-of-l-a-once-you-get-an-hour-and/) [Joe Manganiello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manganiello/) > [In the great cities we see so little of the world, we drift into our minority. In the little towns and villages there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/in-the-great-cities-we-see-so-little-of-the-world-we-drift-into-our/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The thing about that too is that we had the same extras everyday. It was such a community. It was like a microcosmic little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-christensen/the-thing-about-that-too-is-that-we-had-the-same-extras-everyday-it/) [Erika Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-christensen/) > [A little town is like a lantern. Nothing's hid from sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-field/a-little-town-is-like-a-lantern-nothing-s-hid-from-sight/) [Rachel Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-field/) > [Washington is the city where the big men of little towns come to be disillusioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laurence-dunbar/washington-is-the-city-where-the-big-men-of-little-towns-come-to-be/) [Paul Laurence Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laurence-dunbar/) > [“These little towns were once the bold ramparts meant to shelter just such peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/these-little-towns-were-once-the-bold-ramparts-meant-to-shelter-just/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## More by Ralph Nader > [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Nuclear power must be dealt with irrationally. . . . Nuclear plants are carcinogens. Let's get that story out. . . . Their lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/nuclear-power-must-be-dealt-with-irrationally-nuclear-plants-are/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In 2000 the majority of people wanted me and Buchanan on the debates in two thousand. And me on the debates in 2004. have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-2000-the-majority-of-people-wanted-me-and-buchanan-on-the-debates/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [What we need to recognize, less than 1 percent of the people organized around issues that are already supported by conservatives and liberals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/what-we-need-to-recognize-less-than-1-percent-of-the-people-organized/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [We live in a two-party tyranny that doesn't believe in competition, can enforce it with penalties and obstructions, and they're getting closer and closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/we-live-in-a-two-party-tyranny-that-doesn-t-believe-in-competition/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [George W. Bush is very vulnerable but not if you campaign the way the major candidates - except for Dean and Kucinich - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/george-w-bush-is-very-vulnerable-but-not-if-you-campaign-the-way-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Full Medicare-for-all, free choice of doctor and hospital: that comes in sixty to seventy percent without even further explanation. And if you ever explained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/full-medicare-for-all-free-choice-of-doctor-and-hospital-that-comes/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [I always say there's no ticket of admission for active citizenship. Anybody can get through that gate, and anybody can ask that basic question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/i-always-say-there-s-no-ticket-of-admission-for-active-citizenship/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [People have got to show up, showing up at meetings, rallies, marches, City Council, courtrooms. You've got to show up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/people-have-got-to-show-up-showing-up-at-meetings-rallies-marches/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [For almost seventy years the life insurance industry has been a smug sacred cow feeding the public a steady line of sacred bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/for-almost-seventy-years-the-life-insurance-industry-has-been-a-smug/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [It is fascinating to watch legislators turn away from their usual corporate grips when they hear the growing thunder of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-is-fascinating-to-watch-legislators-turn-away-from-their-usual/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In 2004 Professor Stephen Farnsworth, when I report saying that I got about five minutes on all the networks after Labor Day to election…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-2004-professor-stephen-farnsworth-when-i-report-saying-that-i-got/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Young wives are the leading asset of corporate power. They want the suburbs, a house, a settled life, and respectability. They want society to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/young-wives-are-the-leading-asset-of-corporate-power-they-want-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Moral courage is the highest expression of humanity ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/moral-courage-is-the-highest-expression-of-humanity/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) [Explore all 208 Ralph Nader quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) ## More American history quotes > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/we-must-not-falsely-teach-american-history-in-our-schools-we-have-a/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself-and-possibly-teh-bogey/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [“Thanks in part to the rapid mechanization of cotton production in the early 1940s, which ultimately threw millions of farm laborers out of work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/thanks-in-part-to-the-rapid-mechanization-of-cotton-production-in-the/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [“dark say: berthenia belle never forget the tongue hid name”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-margaret/dark-say-berthenia-belle-never-forget-the-tongue-hid-name/) [Cathleen Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-margaret/) > [Throughout American history many of our social gains and much of our progress toward democracy were made possible by the active intervention of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-washington/throughout-american-history-many-of-our-social-gains-and-much-of-our/) [Harold Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-washington/) > [Modern Democrats aren't the first political party to abuse power - far from it. Obama isn'€™t the first president to abuse executive power -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/modern-democrats-aren-t-the-first-political-party-to-abuse-power-far/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [Medicare and Social Security have created the healthiest and most financially secure generation of senior citizens in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-walsh/medicare-and-social-security-have-created-the-healthiest-and-most/) [Jim Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-walsh/) > [The school curriculum today, particularly American history, is a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-school-curriculum-today-particularly-american-history-is-a-shame/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I used to walk out, at night, to the breakwater which divides the end of the harbor form the broad moor of the salt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/i-used-to-walk-out-at-night-to-the-breakwater-which-divides-the-end/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) [Browse all 685 American history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top off one of the greatest industrial disasters in American history.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Nader" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawyer-on-a-contingent-fee-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American history" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawyer-on-a-contingent-fee-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/ralph-nader-1783_american-history_it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawye_2982155.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was an injured worker finding a lawyer on a contingent fee in a little town in Texas that blew the top…” — Ralph Nader", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ralph Nader", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was an injured worker finding...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawyer-on-a-contingent-fee-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-was-an-injured-worker-finding-a-lawyer-on-a-contingent-fee-in-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```