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
New Orleans personal injury lawsuits can become complicated when medical payments are being made by government-run programs or even, in some cases, private health insurers. This is because, in many cases, these parties may have a right to full – or at least partial – reimbursement for any payments made to treat injuries for a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit. As a result, the agency or agencies covering medical expenses will usually want to be apprised of any resolution of the personal injury lawsuit so that they can ensure that their rights are not compromised. Further complicating such matters are several issues, including what rights does the particular agency possess, its influence over resolving the lawsuit, and the fact that the circumstances under which it is entitled to full or partial compensation may vary greatly from agency to agency. Dealing with Medicare can be particularly important. This federal program…Read More
Loss of consortium is a claim for monetary damages made by the spouse of a New Orleans resident who has suffered a serious personal injury. Under Louisiana law, there are seven categories under which a spouse may claim loss of consortium: (1) loss of love and affection, (2) loss of society and companionship, (3) impairment of sexual relations, (4) loss of performance of material services, (5) loss of financial support, (6) loss of aid and assistance, and (7) loss of fidelity. These categories are obviously very broad and cover a variety of things. For example, a man who performs most of the cooking and cleaning duties at his home seriously injures his back after slipping on a wet floor at a restaurant. He is no longer able to perform these duties and his wife must now do them. When his case is filed in New Orleans, his attorney also may…Read More
When a personal injury case in New Orleans is brought to trial, Louisiana law and the specific rules of the court where a trial occurs control how a jury is chosen. While the details regarding jury selection may vary, here are some general rules on how this process occurs. Jury selection starts with a large pool of people for your lawyer and the defendant’s lawyer to choose from. These people will be questioned to see if they have any obvious conflict that would bar them from hearing the case. Relatives and employees of the parties would have an obvious conflict. Other areas that may indicate an obvious conflict include having prior knowledge about the case and having previously interacted with one of the parties involved, their lawyers, or witnesses. Potential jurors with an obvious conflict may be dismissed. The attorneys for each party will also question jurors regarding specific topics…Read More
Dogs are a popular pet in New Orleans. Unfortunately, that means that dog bite injuries are not an unusual occurrence. Should you become injured by a dog, there are a number of steps to consider taking. The most important thing you can do, especially if you are badly injured, is to seek medical care for your wound. Once this has been accomplished, try to find out if the dog has had its rabies shots. After these initial steps have been taken, you can then look to protect your rights should you need to pursue a personal injury claim. Once you are in a condition to do so, you should contact the local police department. They will prepare a report documenting the incident. Also, you should attempt to get name and address of the dog owner. If the owner is willing to share any information with you regarding his or her…Read More
It is difficult for any New Orleans resident to suffer a loss of income. When this loss of income arises from a personal injury accident, the injured party may seek compensation for lost wages as part of a lawsuit. When doing so, however, he or she must be able to establish the value of these lost wages. Lost wages fall under a category of damages referred to as “special damages”. Special damages consist of costs arising from the injury that can be established with a reasonable degree of mathematical certainty. In addition to lost wages, special damages include items such as medical bills and replacement of property. All of these items may be numerically calculated based on established prior losses and anticipated future losses. Because lost earnings can be mathematically determined, the Louisiana courts have tended to limit the discretion of the jury when setting an amount to award in…Read More
It is not that unusual for a New Orleans personal injury lawsuit to involve more than one defendant. Whether it is a motor vehicle collision caused by the negligence of multiple drivers or an injury caused by another person misusing an already dangerous product, there are several situations in which the actions of multiple parties may have substantially contributed to an injury. In most cases, there is no bar to all of the responsible parties being sued for damages. If the lawsuit ends in a trial, the jury must decide to what degree each of the parties is liable for causing the injury. This task will be accomplished by assigning each defendant a percentage of the overall responsibility. Unlike some other states, under Louisiana Law each defendant is only responsible for providing an amount of compensation to the injured person directly proportional to the percentage of fault assigned to them…Read More
Most people in New Orleans have heard that when someone is accused of a crime their guilt must be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Being convicted of a crime has serious repercussions, so, our government has set this high standard of proof for a person to be found guilty. Because personal injury cases are limited to monetary damages and do not involve a possible loss of freedom, this same high standard does not apply. In most non-criminal (civil) cases involving personal injury, the standard of proof is not “beyond a reasonable doubt”, but instead what is termed “a preponderance of the evidence.” A preponderance of the evidence may be defined as enough evidence to establish that it is more probable than not that the defendant is responsible. To put it simply, if you are suing another person for causing your injury, you must prove to the jury that it is…Read More
For most New Orleans personal injury lawsuits, the damages associated with past medical expenses and lost wages are easily calculated and presented to a jury. Determining past economic losses is simply a matter of obtaining all of the relevant numbers and adding them up. But what about individuals who still require medical treatment or have not been able to fully return to work at the time of trial? In most cases, these individuals are entitled to pursue compensation for their future economic losses. This value, however, is much more difficult to accurately determine. If you suffer an injury that results in long term or permanent disability, your future economic losses can be extremely high. As a result, the value of the loss in such cases usually will be hotly contested by the parties. While past economic losses are simply a matter of math, setting a value for future economic losses…Read More
The citizens of New Orleans know how difficult it can be to try to support yourself and your family under difficult economic circumstances. If you are injured and unable to work, supporting yourself can be overwhelming. Fortunately, if that injury was the result of another’s negligence, the injured party often has the right to pursue compensation for lost wages. Also, in cases where a person suffers injuries that lead to a long term or permanent inability to work, the injured person may sue for future lost wages based on a projection of what his or her earnings would have been if the injury had not occurred. Given the financial difficulty a permanently disabled individual may face in the future, this can prove a very significant aspect of a lawsuit brought under these circumstances. If you are in this situation, however, you should bear in mind that in some cases limitations…Read More
