For most personal injury lawsuits in New Orleans, the parties have the right to request that a jury, not the judge, hear their case. This is not true, however, when the damages being sought are less than $50,000. For these cases of lesser value, Louisiana law requires that any trial be conducted before a judge who makes the final decision on the merits of the lawsuit and the damages sought. While many states have such a threshold before a jury may be requested, Louisiana’s financial limit is by far the highest. On April 2, 2012, the Civil Law and Procedure Committee of the Louisiana House Monday rejected a bill that proposed lowering this $50,000 threshold to $15,000 for lawsuits classified as tort cases – which primarily consist of personal injury cases. The reasons for this rejection included a feeling among some lawmakers that it constituted an attempt by the business…Read More
There are many different ways that a New Orleans personal injury lawsuit may be resolved without a trial by jury. While television shows may give the impression that trials are a common occurrence, in reality very few lawsuits actually conclude with a jury trial – especially lawsuits in which the issues are clearly in favor of one party or the other. Probably the most common manner in which personal injury cases involving little factual dispute are resolved is simply through the parties reaching an agreement on how much the case should be resolved for. While this may sound relatively straightforward, it can actually be a complicated process that requires time and a skilled personal injury attorney. Although the defendant may understand that damages will ultimately have to be paid, the defendant will wish to minimize the amount. An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to accurately assess the value…Read More
We have represented many New Orleans residents who suffered serious injuries in car accidents. While seatbelts may cause injuries, the damage we have seen inflicted on our clients by seatbelts is usually minor compared to the injuries suffered by unbelted occupants. Our observations are supported by studies conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2001, the NHTSA analyzed the role of seatbelts in all fatal crashes that year. They found that 73% of people wearing seatbelts survived, compared to only 44% of those not wearing seatbelts. Perhaps even more telling was their finding in a separate study that three out of four people ejected from a vehicle during a crash die. Of the people ejected, 99% of them were not wearing a seatbelt. Some people don’t wear seatbelts because they have heard stories of people being choked by the belt or falling out of the vehicle and…Read More
The schools of New Orleans have the difficult task of not only educating thousands of children, but also attempting to maintain an environment that is safe for all students. While there is no absolute bar to suing a school when its employees fail in their duty to properly supervise students and provide a safe environment, any matter involving an injury at a school should be evaluated by an experienced personal injury attorney to determine its merits. Schools do have a duty to provide reasonable supervision over students through their employees. They are not, however, expected to be perfect in their supervision of students. The Louisiana courts have noted that constant supervision of all students is neither possible nor required, and that the degree of supervision required must be evaluated based on the specific circumstances of the particular case. As a result, any time a lawsuit against the school is being…Read More
When a dangerous product has injured a client, New Orleans personal injury attorneys usually will examine what warnings, if any, the manufacturer gave regarding the product’s use. In some cases, a product may be found to be dangerous because the manufacturer did not provide an adequate warning. Whether a manufacturer must provide a warning depends on the nature of the product. When a manufacturer learns, or reasonably should have learned, of a dangerous characteristic, they have a duty to provide a warning of that danger to anyone who uses or handles the product. However, there are exceptions to this requirement. No warning is necessary when the user knew or reasonably should have known of the product’s dangerous characteristic. For example, knives generally do not need warning labels because their danger should be obvious to the user. A warning also is not necessary when the extent of the product’s danger would be…Read More
Most health care facilities in the New Orleans area are comprised of competent and hardworking professionals. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the treatment provided to a patient falls below acceptable medical practice. When this happens, the patient may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. A health care provider’s treatment must meet an appropriate standard of care. Generally, all medical care providers must provide the care ordinarily possessed and exercised by members of the profession in good standing in the community. Where an alleged act raises issues peculiar to a medical specialty, the standard of care is that which is ordinarily practiced by those involved in the medical specialty. Examples of medical malpractice include: Failure to provide a patient with appropriate medical treatment; Incorrectly diagnosing or failing to recognize a medical condition; Unreasonable delay in providing care for a known medical condition. In a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff…Read More
Over the past several years, drivers in New Orleans have seen increased regulation of distracting behavior – such as cell phone use or texting – while operating a motor vehicle. While the danger of personal injury accidents caused by distracted drivers has become a great concern, there has been little federal guidance regarding how to control this dangerous behavior. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has finally changed that with the proposal of new guidelines aimed at combating distracted driving. The proposed guidelines address issues regarding the design and function of electronic devices built into light automobiles, such as cars and minivans. While the states have largely been limited to regulations attempting to change the behavior of drivers, these proposed federal guidelines are aimed at the manufacturers, who have been increasingly incorporating potentially distracting electronic devices into their vehicles. Specific recommendations include limiting the complexity and time necessary to…Read More
Dealing with Medicare laws has become an increasingly complicated area for New Orleans personal injury attorneys. Under federal law, Medicare has a right to recover any payments it made for medical treatment. This right extends to taking a portion of the damages awarded in a personal injury lawsuit. There are very strict regulations surrounding the requirements to report information regarding the settlement of a personal injury case to Medicare. If you are receiving Medicare, they will assert a lien against the proceeds of any settlement or judgment in your case. When you receive financial compensation, Medicare is required to be reimbursed for its expenses within sixty days. In some cases, Medicare may also have a right to take an additional portion of any financial compensation as payment for anticipated future medical expenses. This is known as a Medicare set-aside. When long term treatment is required, this set-aside may be extremely…Read More
When a New Orleans resident is injured by a power tool or other manufactured product, a potential claim against the company that made the dangerous device is governed by the Louisiana Products Liability Act. This law sets forth some very specific rules regarding older manufactured products in a personal injury lawsuit. Where problems may arise when pursuing manufacturers of older items – especially items such as power tools – is in proving that the manufacturer should have anticipated the condition of the product at the time of the injury. Under Louisiana law, the characteristic of the product that makes it unreasonably dangerous either must have existed when the product left the control of the manufacturer or must have arisen from an alteration or modification of the product that the manufacturer could have reasonably anticipated. Alterations or modifications that a manufacturer can reasonably anticipate include normal wear and tear, and changes that…Read More
When a citizen of New Orleans suffers a personal injury from a product used nationwide, they may not have to proceed alone. If enough people are injured by the actions of a company, a claim may be made as a group against that company. This is referred to as a class action lawsuit. Not all class action lawsuits involve physical injury; they may also involve issues such as illegal hiring practices. Examples of well-known class action lawsuits involving physical injury or wrongful death include cases against pharmaceutical companies for drugs with dangerous side effects and the recent cases against tobacco manufacturers. These lawsuits involve individuals from different geographic regions. So, for example, you suffer a physical injury from taking a dangerous drug in New Orleans but you may end up involved in a case with injured people from around the state or even the country. Also, class actions overcome the…Read More
