When the employee of a New Orleans business causes an injury, Louisiana State Law places vicarious liability on the employer if the employee was in exercise of the functions in which he or she is employed. Three elements must be shown to impose vicarious liability on the employer. First, there must be an employment relationship. This is typically measured by a control test that asks if the employer could have exercised control over how the employee’s work at the time was done. Second, the employer will be liable for his employee’s negligent acts if the acts are within the course and scope of employment. When deciding this issue, courts examine whether the employee’s conduct that led to the injury is so closely connected in time, place, and purpose to his or her work duties that it should be regarded as a risk fairly attributable to the employer’s business. If the…Read More
Our home owner’s automobile insurance company refuses to pay the surmounting medical bills because this was a hit-and-run accident which he was not at fault. I need your help!! What are our rights? Insurance companies are in business to make money and a way they can help increase the bottom-line is to deny claims. The Insurance Company has an attorney…. and you should get one too. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can advise you regarding the proper steps that you should take to protect your legal rights. If you have questions about personal injury law, call the Gertler Law Firm at (504) 527-8767 for a free consultation.Read More
The potential for a sleep-deprived truck driver to cause a severe personal injury accident is obvious. Given the large number of trucks traveling the highways of New Orleans on a daily basis, we all have an interest in ensuring truck drivers are as alert and vigilant as possible. The Medical Review Board of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) – a panel of five physicians that advises the FMCSA on medical issues – has been advocating increased evaluation of sleep apnea in drivers for several years. The FMCSA now has taken a step forward in addressing this condition among truck drivers. Sleep apnea is a medical condition which causes abnormal pauses in breathing while asleep. These pauses disrupt normal sleep. According to members of the Medical Review Board, sleep apnea may lead to chronic fatigue, reduced reaction time, lapses in attention and distractibility. Operating a truck under such conditions…Read More
Whether a New Orleans property owner is legally responsible for an injury caused by a dangerous condition on his or her property is governed under Louisiana’s premises liability laws. Under these laws, the degree of care the property owner owes to an individual on the property varies depending upon the person’s reason being there. As a result, why an injured person was on the property can be instrumental in determining whether a personal injury lawsuit may be successfully pursued. Louisiana law broadly divides individuals who may be on property into three categories: invitees, licensees and trespassers. Each of these categories is owed a different level of care by the property owner. An invitee is a person who has been invited onto the property. This category usually includes business patrons, who are considered to have been implicitly invited onto the property. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees…Read More
Most New Orleans personal injury lawsuits involve a question of who was negligent. Negligence in a personal injury case means conduct that falls below the standard of care required to protect others (or yourself) from the unreasonable risk of harm. In cases where more than one party caused the accident or an injured person acted in a way that contributed to his own injuries, the comparative negligence of the parties may be a factor in the case. Comparative negligence – also called comparative fault – refers to the degree of negligence engaged in by each of the parties, including the injured person, that led to the injured person being harmed. Under prior Louisiana law, any comparative negligence by an injured person often barred recovery of any damages. Louisiana changed this law in 1979 and further modified it in 1996. The current law allows an injured person to recover at least…Read More
Any New Orleans personal injury attorney will tell you that as the popularity of texting has spread, there has been a significant increase in motor vehicle accidents caused by texting while driving. Most people believe that this is problem largely associated with teenage drivers – probably because we think of teenagers as glued to their cell phones. A recent survey conducted by AT&T, however, indicates that it may be adults who are the worst offenders when it comes to this dangerous practice. Nearly 50{d37eae5b8410ed8fb22098597e6ecfa689963c7e8a6548fdf24949bed3e82123} of adults in the survey admitted that they had texted while driving, compared to only 43{d37eae5b8410ed8fb22098597e6ecfa689963c7e8a6548fdf24949bed3e82123} of teenagers. Both of these numbers are extremely high given the risk of causing a personal injury accident. More than 98{d37eae5b8410ed8fb22098597e6ecfa689963c7e8a6548fdf24949bed3e82123} of the adults surveyed admitted that they knew it was wrong, but many of them are doing it anyway. Six out of ten of the adults also stated that…Read More
New Orleans personal injury accidents involving large trucks lead to some of the most devastating injuries of any motor vehicle accidents. While certain forms of crash-avoidance technology have been available on high end motor vehicles for years, truck manufacturers and the federal government have only begun to evaluate how this technology may help reduce serious injuries and death arising from truck accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed that large trucks and buses be required to have an electronic stability control (ESC) system. According the NHTSA’s studies, ESC systems may prevent up to 56 percent of rollovers and 14 percent of crashes caused by loss of control. This translates into approximately 858 fewer injuries and about 60 fewer deaths in truck accidents every year. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) also has been involved in analyzing the effectiveness of different crash-avoidance systems when applied to tractor…Read More
As gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and fully electric vehicles have become increasingly popular, the pedestrians and bicyclists of New Orleans have had to tread more carefully to avoid a personal injury accident. These vehicles generate much less noise than their gas-guzzling counterparts, so much so that they have actually been found to pose an increased hazard to these pedestrians and bicyclists. This is particularly true for people who are visually impaired and rely upon the sound of approaching vehicles when, for example, waiting to cross the street. In response to this problem the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has proposed a new set of standards for hybrid and electric vehicles that would require them to artificially emit additional noise when driven at speeds less than 18 mph. The proposed new rules have been submitted to the Federal Register, where the public may read the full proposal and offer comment before…Read More
All motorcycle drivers and passengers in New Orleans are required to wear a helmet. Although helmets have been proven to greatly reduce the risk of personal injury and death in motorcycle accidents, Louisiana is one of only nineteen states requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. Nationally, about one in seven motor vehicle fatalities in 2011 involved motorcycle accidents, with approximately 4,500 bikers killed while using motorcycles. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) offers even more surprising findings. While annual passenger vehicle fatalities declined by approximately 5% from 1997 to 2008, over the same time period the number of annual deaths in motorcycle accidents more than doubled. Motorcyclist fatalities again rose slightly in 2010, while fatalities in car accidents have generally continued to decline. Overall, the NHSTA has determined that per mile traveled, a motorcyclist is approximately 30 times more likely than someone in a car to die in a motor…Read More
In most New Orleans personal injury lawsuits arising from motor vehicle accidents, your attorney will attempt to obtain compensation from the insurance company of the party that injured you. Sometimes, however, the responsible party either may not have insurance or may not carry adequate insurance to cover the damages suffered. This may result in your being unable to obtain full compensation for the injuries. You can help protect yourself from having this happen by carrying uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as part of your own auto insurance policy. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage provides insurance coverage for the occupants of a vehicle involved in a collision with another vehicle that is either not insured or does not carry enough insurance to compensate for the bodily injuries suffered. Insurance companies are required by law to offer you the option of choosing this coverage as part of your auto insurance policy. Moreover, because Louisiana has a…Read More
