The parties occasionally file motions for summary judgment with the court in New Orleans personal injury lawsuits. The filing of such a motion means that one of the parties believes that there are facts in their favor that are beyond dispute. If the court agrees, the court will rule on the issue without need for a trial. A motion for summary judgment may be made by either the plaintiff or the defendant. When presenting this motion, the party is arguing that no “genuine issue of material fact” exists that is worthy of being heard at a full trial. In legal terms, a fact is “material” in a personal injury lawsuit when it is essential to the plaintiff’s theory of recovery. A “genuine issue of material fact” means that reasonable people could disagree about the fact being considered. When there is a genuine issue, a determination is properly left to the…Read More
When a New Orleans injury auto accident occurs, the party at fault is responsible for paying any damages arising from the collision. Although which driver is responsible for the accident usually must be decided by a judge or jury, if the injured party is struck from behind liability is usually easily established. In Louisiana, a driver is presumed to have been negligent if he collides with the rear of a vehicle ahead of him. When this situation occurs, it is assumed that the rearward driver either did not leave sufficient space between the vehicles to allow for making a safe stop under normal driving conditions, or he or she failed to pay proper attention to the events taking place ahead. Because of this presumption, the injured party no longer has the burden of proving the rear driver was negligent. Instead, the burden is placed on rear driver to prove that…Read More
Most personal injury automobile accidents that occur on New Orleans’ streets are the fault of another driver and are not the responsibility of any government agency that maintains the roads. While the laws of Louisiana require the Department of Transportation and Development to keep roads and shoulders in a reasonably safe condition, they are not responsible for guaranteeing the safety of everyone who uses a public roadway. Occasionally, however, personal injury accidents are caused by a road that has been constructed or maintained in a way that was not reasonably safe for motorists. When this occurs, the injured party may be able to pursue damages from the party responsible for building or maintaining the road. Louisiana Revised Statute 48 § 35 requires the Department of Transportation and Development to adopt minimum safety standards with respect to highway and bridge design, construction and maintenance. The safety standards are modeled upon those…Read More
As experienced New Orleans personal injury attorneys, we understand that no amount of money can really compensate a person who has suffered a serious and long-term injury. This is especially true of a Traumatic Brain Injury or other serious head injury where the victim may face years of treatment and, in many cases, still not fully recover. When a head injury is caused by another person’s negligence, that party should be held responsible and pay for the treatment. Our responsibility as personal injury attorneys is to help you obtain all funds available to provide for both past and future medical treatment. In the case of head injuries, treatment often is needed over a long period of time and, as a result, is very expensive. Unfortunately, this means that full financial compensation is often unattainable for a truly serious head injury. Even if you hire an experienced personal injury attorney and successfully pursue…Read More
Following a motor vehicle accident involving an injury, one of the first things New Orleans personal injury attorneys explore is the availability of insurance coverage to compensate the injured party. Under Louisiana law, all drivers must carry a minimum level of Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $15,000 per injured person and $30,000 per accident. If the motor vehicle whose driver caused the injury is not insured, or does not carry enough insurance to fully compensate for the injuries, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may provide additional coverage. This coverage may be purchased by a vehicle owner to help protect himself and the occupants of his vehicle. Louisiana law has a unique approach to uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Drivers are not absolutely required to purchase it, but if they do not specifically reject it when purchasing auto insurance, they are presumed to have purchased it. There is a form that the person purchasing the…Read More
For a New Orleans resident to file a medical malpractice claim, the procedure set forth in the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act must be followed. The Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act requires that any claim of medical malpractice be screened by a “medical review panel” before a lawsuit to recover damages can be filed in court. A medical review panel is composed of three health care providers and is administered by an attorney chairman. The attorney chairman does not have a vote and merely acts to facilitate the panel. The injured person and the medical provider being accused of malpractice each select one of the three health care providers. Once those two panel members are selected, they must agree upon who will be the third health care provider selected to the panel. The purpose of the medical review panel is to review the evidence and determine if it supports a finding that…Read More
In Louisiana, there are several laws that limit recovery for personal injuries suffered on land used for recreational purposes. These laws include specific regulations surrounding lands owned, leased, or managed as a public park by the state or its political subdivisions. As a result, if someone suffers a personal injury in a New Orleans park, the circumstances surrounding that injury must be carefully examined to determine if there is any right to recover damages. When landowners, including a government, permit use of land for recreational purposes, they are not responsible under Louisiana law for any personal injury caused by a defect on the property. This applies whether the defect was naturally occurring or man-made. The major exception to this rule occurs when the landowner engages in willful or malicious failure to warn against a dangerous condition, structure, or activity. There are, however, two other exceptions that specifically apply in cases…Read More
New Orleans dog bite lawsuits operate under a different set of rules than cases involving other types of animals. For cases involving animals other than dogs, the law requires proof that the owner of the animal was negligent. In contrast, under Louisiana Civil Code article 2321, when someone is bitten by a dog, the owner of the dog is considered strictly liable for any injury caused by it. Proof of the owner’s negligence is not required. This does not mean, however, that dog owners must automatically pay damages following every dog bite incident. The law also requires proof that the owner could have prevented the damage caused by the dog. The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that, to prove the owner could have prevented the dog’s actions, the injured person must demonstrate that the dog presented an unreasonable risk of harm. What constitutes an unreasonable risk of harm is determined…Read More
The monetary award received by the injured party in a New Orleans personal injury lawsuit is referred to as compensatory damages. These damages are often divided into two broad categories: special damages and general damages. Special damages are those damages for which – at least to some degree – an objective value can be determined. Items such as medical expenses and loss of earnings are included under this category. Special damages have a fixed value based on actual monetary losses that arose or will arise from the injuries. In contrast, general damages are more speculative and cannot be fixed with mathematical certainty. General damages consist of categories such as pain and suffering and mental anguish. They also may include an award for scarring or disfigurement. While special damages tend to have a fixed value, people’s opinions may vary widely regarding the value of general damages. As a result, awards for…Read More
The laws of Louisiana specifically consider when an employer may be held responsible for the acts of an employee driver in a personal injury lawsuit. This is referred to as having “vicarious liability” for the employee. Three elements must be shown to impose vicarious liability on the employer. First, there must be an “employment relationship.” Whether an employment relationship exists is usually determined by examining the amount of control the employer exercised over the employee’s work at the time of the injury. Second, it must be determined whether the employee’s negligent acts were committed within the course and scope of employment. When deciding this issue, courts examine whether the employee’s conduct was so closely connected in time, place, and purpose to his work duties that it should be treated as a risk attributable to the employer’s business. When an employee acts out of purely personal considerations that are outside the…Read More
