The family of a construction worker who died after a girder on the new twin spans fell into Lake Pontchartrain filed a lawsuit Friday against the company that manufactured the concrete beam, alleging it was flawed.

A lawsuit filed Friday alleges serious flaws in the construction of a girder that fell from the new twin spans being built across Lake Pontchartrain, killing one worker and plunging nine others into the water.

Lawsuits filed by the families of four Lee High School students killed in a 2006 school bus crash were settled by the bus company, Laidlaw Transit Inc., early Wednesday, said three attorneys who helped mediate the cases.

Several lawsuits have been settled over a Huntsville school bus crash that killed four high school students and left dozens injured two years ago.

Tom Methvin is a Montgomery Attorney who is chairing the Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force, a program put together by the Alabama State Bar.

Starting today, Alabama lawyers will answer a toll-free hotline to assist homeowners faced with foreclosure, according to the Alabama State Bar and Legal Services Alabama, two organizations that partnered to provide the service.

A vice president of the Atlanta branch of the Federal Reserve Bank and a vice president of RealtyTrac, a firm that tracks foreclosures, didn't deliver the good news that Todd Strange was looking for Wednesday.

Thomas J. Methvin began his legal career with Beasley Allen in 1988 representing victims of consumer fraud. He has served as Managing Shareholder of the firm since 1998. In 2007, Tom was featured in Fortune Magazine as one of America's Premier Lawyers, and was chosen by Birmingham Magazine as one of the Best Lawyers in Alabama in the field of personal injury and mass torts.

Due to the mortgage foreclosure crisis, Monday the Alabama State Bar and Legal Services Alabama announced their partnership with a plan to help Alabama homeowners remain in their homes. Thomas Methvin, State Bar President-elect tells WAFF 48 News, "It's a way to give back to the public and to try and keep people from losing their homes. There have been so many people that have been victims of predatory lending practices and we just want to make sure their rights are enforced before someone tries taking their house."

Lawyers in Huntsville will kick off a statewide program here today to assist homeowners in danger of losing their houses because of mortgage foreclosures, according to the Alabama State Bar Association.