As New Orleans personal injury attorneys, we deal with the impact of car accidents on families on a daily basis. While our job is to pursue financial compensation for our clients in personal injury lawsuits, we understand that in many cases, no monetary reward can compensate for the suffering of the injured or the hardship imposed on loved ones as a result of a serious – or even fatal – car crash. Nonetheless, there are several financial costs associated with automobile accidents that can be measured. Recently, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission released a finding that the costs associated with automobile accidents in Louisiana totaled approximately $5.7 billion in 2009. The expenses used in arriving at this figure included medical treatment, property damage, loss of wages and litigation costs. While those wrongly injured are entitled to full compensation for their personal injuries, this number is truly staggering. It becomes even…Read More
It’s always advisable to talk to an impartial legal expert when you’ve suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident in New Orleans, even if you carry motorcycle insurance. Obviously, insurance companies make their money from your premium payments, and lose money when they have to make a payout. They have huge incentives to minimize any offer they make you, and in a lot of cases, this can leave you without the resources you need to get back on track. An attorney can help you establish effective baselines for things like your out-of-pocket costs, medical bills, future medical expenses related to the accident, lost or damaged property, lost wages, and other elements you may be entitled to collect for. Your insurance company wants you think it’s on your side, but it has extremely divided loyalties when it comes to giving you money. If another driver’s insurance company is in the mix, you can bet…Read More
We advise our clients to never accept a settlement offer in a dog bite case without having an experienced attorney review the offer and help you evaluate whether it suits your needs. Unfortunately, in most cases we find that insurers are attempting to lowball families who’ve been affected by a dog bite, often ensuring that future medical costs, lost wages, and other incidentals that remain to be dealt with be paid for out of pocket. Nationally, it’s believed that fewer than 17% of dog bite cases are ever compensated, and that for those that are, victims receive a small fraction of the money they’re entitled to. In New Orleans, you are eligible to make claims against a dog owner for medical costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, future medical needs related to the bite, which may include expensive interventions like reconstructive surgery, as well as other losses you’ve incurred because of the…Read More
Louisiana, like all states, has a statutory time limit for personal injury claims resulting from a motorcycle accident. In New Orleans, you have one year in which to file a claim to recover damages or you’ll lose your right to sue. You can bet that insurance companies involved in the case will work hard to run out the clock on you, and it’s difficult or impossible to convince a judge to extend the statute of limitations in a personal injury case. In personal injury law, the statute of limitations is often the biggest hurdle in getting a person the compensation they deserve. Individuals may be hesitant to visit with an attorney about their issue, and insurance companies are good at trying to hurry you into signing off on an agreement that won’t match the bills you’ll face down the road. It’s extremely important that you don’t sign on to any insurance company…Read More
A trip to the emergency room when a child is bitten by a dog can wreak financial havoc on a family, especially they are underinsured or uninsured. Louisiana continues to struggle to find a way to provide affordable health insurance to many, which means that unplanned crises can be catastrophic. The good news is that you have a right to compensation in New Orleans when your child is bitten by a neighbor’s dog. Typically, the neighbor’s homeowner’s insurance company will be responsible for fairly compensating you for medical bills, wages that you or your spouse lost while dealing with the incident, and even making sure you’re protected from future medical expenses related to the injuries, including cosmetic surgery. An experienced New Orleans dog bite attorney works for you, and will see to it that your family recovers as much as possible so your child can heal and your family can move on. At…Read More
It’s always a good idea to consult with an attorney in instances where you may not fully know your legal rights or have all the information you need to make the best decision. Most likely, your neighbor is making a good faith offer to take care of an issue that he or she feels responsible for, but unless you know for certain that there is no risk of future costs or even future injuries from the dog in question, talk to a lawyer about your rights. If you or your child have been bitten or attacked by a neighbor’s dog, the immediate hospital bills may only be the beginning. Especially when children are victims, there can be additional medical expenditures related to the incident in the future, including cosmetic surgery, which often isn’t covered by insurance. Your neighbor isn’t likely to have cash on hand to cover expensive surgeries, which is…Read More
In a motorcycle accident situation, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will probably want to talk to you as quickly as possible, even if you’ve been badly hurt. They may even want to record an interview with you as soon as they can, because the more on-the-record statements they have from you while you’re still unclear about the accident and while all the facts may not be known, the better the chance they can defend against claims you make against their driver. Don’t be victimized twice when you’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident in New Orleans. Before you talk to insurance company representatives, get experienced legal help to make sure that any statements you make support recovery of your losses. These may include loss of property, lost wages, medical bills from the motorcyle accident, anticipated future medical bills, compensation for pain and suffering, and in egregious cases, punitive damages against the at-fault driver.…Read More
In cases of nursing home abuse or neglect, the resident him or herself, or their family members, may file a lawsuit for damages. In many cases the family will have to take on the project, because of the mental or physical condition of the loved one in residential care. Children and spouses of a resident who has been abused or neglected in a care facility are common initiators of legal action in these cases. Nursing home abuse and neglect is an increasing problem for our society. As our lifespans extend, more and more of us will need help in our later years, and it’s incumbent on all of us to ensure that the highest standards of care are in place for our loved ones and, later, for ourselves. At The Gertler Law Firm, we’ve helped clients in New Orleans for more than 30 years, and helped injured people recover more than $100…Read More
Your New Orleans OB/GYN should have evaluated your risk factors and attempted to assess whether your baby was large for its gestational age, a condition called macrosomia. In cases where expectant mothers experience gestational diabetes, begin pregnancy obesity or gain excessive weight during the pregnancy, have a history of macrosomia, or have other risk factors for developing a baby who is too large to be delivered through the birth canal, ultrasounds can be used to estimate fetal size. When macrosomia is suspected, nonstress tests are used to periodically monitor your baby’s health as your due date approaches. When a baby is too large to fit through the mother’s birth canal, both mother and baby are at higher risk for injuries, including shoulder dystocia for the baby, and emergency C-section for the delivery. If you displayed risk factors that your physician didn’t evaluate properly and you or your child experienced injury from…Read More
While Louisiana law mandates that drivers carry insurance in the event that they are in an accident that causes property damage or injury to themselves or someone else, not everyone follows the law. If you’ve been struck by an uninsured motorist while riding your motorcycle, your own insurance carrier will play a huge role in how much you can collect. As you can imagine, they’re not eager to authorize big payouts even when the situation warrants it, and you can rest assured that they understand your policy – and its loopholes – much better than you do. This is why it’s so important to work with an experienced New Orleans motorcycle accident attorney in cases where you’ve suffered injuries or property damage from an uninsured or underinsured driver. At The Gertler Law Firm, our team of experienced accident attorneys can make sure that your insurer fulfills all the terms of your…Read More
