Being involved in a car accident can be expensive and terrifying, whether you are liable for it or not. But what happens if your car wasn’t even in your possession at the time of the accident? Will you be held liable for damages? What if you didn’t know your car was stolen at the time? In addition, will your insurance cover the cost of a stolen vehicle? What happens if your car is stolen and you never see it again? Will you be covered for the items that were inside? If a stolen car gets into an accident, you may be wondering if you will be held liable for the damages. Fortunately, you usually won’t be if you have properly reported the car as stolen. We’ll cover some of the basics you need to know in case your car ever gets into an accident after being stolen. Who Is Liable For…Read More
A Baton Rouge police officer was in custody following a recent crash in his unmarked police cruiser. Dave Davis, 30, was off-duty on Sunday when he reportedly ran a red light and crashed into another car. Louisiana State Police, EMS, and firefighters responded to the scene of the crash, but Davis became combative as they tried to help him exit his vehicle. They eventually got him into a waiting ambulance, at which point he refused to sit down and punched a wall. Paramedics strapped him to a gurney, but he managed to free himself and tried to stand up again. EMS eventually sedated him so he could be transported and receive treatment at a nearby hospital. Blood test results, which will reveal the presence of any drugs or alcohol in his system, were pending at the time of this writing. Davis had been booked into jail as of Sunday, but…Read More
Carcinogenic means cancer-causing. Materials are known as carcinogenic because they provoke changes in cells that multiply continuously. This term is known as “malignancy.” In the case of asbestos, the cause is thought to be a chronic inflammatory state. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral. This means it is made of millions and millions of small, microscopic fibers that are extremely light and can easily become airborne. When a person works or lives in an asbestos-contaminated area, they frequently breathe or swallow uncountable numbers of these small, rigid fibers. They can end up deep in the lungs, lodged into the lining of the stomach and intestines. Less commonly, they can also spread to other parts of the body. Once asbestos fibers are embedded in body tissues, they can remain in place for the remainder of your life. During this time, the lungs are in constant motion as you breathe. Your intestines are constantly contracting and…Read More
New Orleans Lawyer For Veteran With Mesothelioma As a general proposition, active-duty military members and retirees from the military branches are not allowed to sue the Marine Corps or any other branch. That doesn’t mean you have no recourse when you’ve developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while serving our country. There are several pathways to benefits and compensation that you deserve, and which can help protect your family for the long term. First, the VA has special funds set aside to provide additional benefits to veterans who’ve developed mesothelioma. The application process can be complex, but once approved, you and your family will enjoy an increase in your monthly benefits package. As a veteran, you also have access to VA facilities anywhere in the country to seek treatment, clinical trials, and even experimental therapies that are constantly being explored to improve quality of life and even beat mesothelioma entirely. Beyond the…Read More
What To Do When Diagnosed With Asbestosis In Louisiana You may be able to make a claim or file a lawsuit related to an asbestosis diagnosis in New Orleans. Asbestosis is a disease caused by the chronic inhalation of tiny asbestos fibers which, over time, lead to scar tissue formation in the lungs. Lung tissue is delicate, and has the singular role of providing gas exchange between the blood and the world outside. Oxygen comes into the lungs, and carbon dioxide and other waste gases are excreted through the lungs. When scar tissue, which is thicker than normal lung tissue, develops in the lungs, it can lead to shortness of breath and a significant decrease in quality of life. Asbestosis is incurable and is thought to contribute to more than 1,000 deaths each year in the United States. Does Asbestosis Make Me More Vulnerable To Developing Mesothelioma? It is also an indicator…Read More
Asbestos Injury Attorney For Those With Asbestosis In Louisiana No, being diagnosed with asbestosis or any other asbestos-related disease does not mean that you will definitely develop mesothelioma. However it does indicate that you are at higher risk for developing mesothelioma or another asbestos-related cancer. When dealing with any health crisis, it can help to stay focused on the now and taking care of the problem in front of you, rather than worrying about things that might or might not happen in the future. Asbestosis is not curable, but your doctor can help identify treatments that can ease your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Getting Compensation For An Asbestosis Diagnosis In Louisiana You should know that a diagnosis of asbestosis may entitle you to compensation. As the name suggests, asbestosis is caused by the long-term inhalation of asbestos fibers, usually in a workplace. In Louisiana, a number of worksites are known to…Read More
Compensation For Asbestos Exposure In New Orleans Only your doctor is qualified to determine the cause of your lung cancer. However, asbestos has been known to cause lung cancer since at least the 1940s. Today asbestos-related lung cancer is thought to be responsible for more than 6,000 deaths in the United States each year. Your doctor will use several methods to determine whether your exposure to asbestos caused the cancer. This includes looking for signs of asbestosis (a scarring of lung tissue caused by inhaled asbestos fibers), analyzing the number of asbestos fibers found in lung tissue, linking the exposure rate to certain jobs or job sites, and determining the date of your initial exposure to asbestos. Under an international criteria used by doctors, asbestos-related lung cancer has at least a 10-year latency period between the time of initial exposure and the diagnosis of lung cancer. People who’ve been sickened…Read More
Hiring A Louisiana Asbestos Injury Attorney For Best Results In A Mesothelioma Claim Yes, as with most states in America, Louisiana has a statute of limitations that applies in legal cases. For injury cases, the statute is generally one year, and after that it is assumed that the injured person has waived their right to make a claim. In the case of mesothelioma, the situation is slightly different, although the same time frame applies. While technically the injury, which is exposure to asbestos, often in the workplace, occurred years or decades before a diagnosis of mesothelioma, in this instance the law views the date of diagnosis as the start of the clock on the 12-month statute of limitations. This means that you have some time to consider your options, but do keep in mind that the earlier you begin the process of working with a lawyer, the easier it may…Read More
At The Gertler Law Firm, we operate on a contingency fee basis. That means that you pay nothing up front, and we collect nothing if we don’t obtain an award or a settlement for you. This arrangement incentivizes us to treat your mesothelioma case with all the care it deserves, and builds in trust that your matter is being handled professionally and promptly. After all, if we don’t succeed in getting you the compensation you deserve, we also receive nothing to compensate us for our work. In general, you can expect that one-fourth to one-third of an award or settlement will go the lawyers and other professionals who investigated the issues in your case, documented your work and medical history with asbestos exposure, and prepared the legal case or claims that may ultimately result in a measure of financial security for you and your family. As you can imagine, the…Read More
Mesothelioma hits older Americans the hardest, which can leave their families devastated. Family members, including the victim’s spouse and children, are able to file claims of wrongful death against companies that produced asbestos, employers who failed to inform workers about the dangers of exposure to carcinogenic asbestos in the workplace. In some cases, that could be other parties who may bear responsibility for slowly poisoning a loved one who ultimately succumbs to the disease. Many companies in the United States faced the spectre of an almost endless stream of lawsuits related to their production of toxic materials that contained asbestos, or their unwillingness to properly train and protect their employees who worked with the mineral. Nearly every case of mesothelioma could have been prevented if business leaders had made decisions to protect people instead of profits. Since they didn’t, courts have taken a hard line in bankruptcy restructuring and other…Read More
