Articles Posted in Car Accidents

There can be many different way that the opposition in your auto accident case may seek to defeat your claim. Sometimes, some of those strategies involve challenging the things you did or didn’t do. This may involve proving that you were partly to blame for the accident, or, if not, it may involve accusing you of failing to take all of the appropriate steps to minimize the harm you suffered or, in legal terms, mitigate your damages. With representation from a knowledgeable Louisiana car crash attorney, you can address and defeat a claim that you failed to take the steps needed to minimize your harm.

An example of this scenario was the lawsuit filed by Juliet, who was in a two-car collision south of Baton Rouge. Juliet was driving her Honda Accord when Austin, who was traveling along an intersecting road, ran a stop sign and slammed into Juliet’s vehicle. The impact threw the Honda off the road and into a ditch, causing significant injuries to Juliet in the process.

We are currently experiencing what is known as the “sharing economy”. Hundreds, if not thousands, of companies have emerged on the scene to accommodate this phenomenon which is dominating popular culture. From sharing cars to homes, the “collaborative consumption” model is transforming many industries.

A few of the more well-known companies involved in the sharing-economy include:

Suffering an injury in an auto accident in which weather or atmospheric conditions play a role can present some distinct challenges. Since the law recognizes an “act of God” defense, your case may encounter some unique hurdles in pursuit of compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. With the help of a knowledgeable Louisiana car accident attorney, you may still be able to succeed despite an opponent’s claims of an “act of God.” In one injured man’s case, he won his appeal because he persuaded the court that the defendant’s inaction opened it up to potential liability.

The holiday season was not 100% happy and bright for a Louisiana man named Scott in 2011, when he found himself involved in a multi-car pile-up. In the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 29, 2011, he was a passenger in a vehicle that encountered heavy, dense fog and smoke along westbound Interstate 10 in the New Orleans area. Visibility dropped to near zero. The driver began braking but hit the truck in front of him. That vehicle was stopped because it had rear-ended the vehicle in front of it. The vehicle carrying Scott was subsequently hit by two more vehicles.

Auto accidents case may have many nuances, details, and points for which you need to make important tactical and strategic decisions. For example, you are a passenger in a vehicle that’s involved in a two-vehicle crash. You suffer injuries in the crash. Whom do you sue? These and other important choices are places where the advice and representation of an experienced Louisiana car accident attorney may make the difference between success and defeat.

One case in which the injured passenger had to deal with making such choices was one that arose from a collision in Baton Rouge in 2012. Lance was attempting to turn his 2004 BMW left out of a parking lot and onto the main road. Patrick was attempting to merge his SUV into the left turn lane on that same main road. Both men made their moves at around the same time, and Patrick’s SUV struck Lance’s BMW.

In a Louisiana car accident case, you may have many different types of evidence that you use to achieve success, with each type playing an important role. For many cases, expert witness evidence can be one of those types. For one woman whose case was recently decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal, her expert evidence was vital, since that evidence alone was enough to raise a triable issue of fact and allow her to avoid summary judgment.

If you suffer an injury in an auto accident, there are many challenges that may lie ahead of you. Unfortunately, battling with an insurance company can sometimes be one of them. That is one of many areas where an experienced Louisiana auto accident attorney can help you – by using the tools available in the legal system to give you every chance to get what’s coming to you. In the case of one woman and her stepson, who were rear-ended at a traffic signal, the Louisiana Court of Appeal revived their lawsuit, concluding that the insurer had not submitted the right type of evidence to prove that a valid cancellation of the at-fault driver’s insurance policy had taken place before the accident occurred.

On June 1, 2015, the woman was driving on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge when she was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light. The driver, along with her stepson (who was a passenger in the vehicle), sued the driver who rear-ended them, as well as that driver’s auto insurance company.

The insurance company, in its defense, argued that it could not be liable for the plaintiffs’ injuries. The policy it had issued to the at-fault driver was financed through a third-party company, and, since the driver had fallen behind on his payments to the finance company, the insurer had canceled the policy a week before the accident took place.

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When you’re injured in an auto accident, there are many challenges and difficulties you’ll face. First and foremost, there is simply recovering from your injuries. Hopefully, you won’t face the added stress of an insurance company that owes you payment on a claim but doesn’t pay. However, if that does happen, the law may give you certain options for damages against that insurer for bad faith. In the recent case of one injured woman, the Louisiana Court of Appeal upheld a finding of bad faith and an award of damages in her favor.

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It is illegal to drive without a valid driver’s license. It is also illegal for you to give permission to a person to drive your vehicle who does not have a valid driver’s license. However, just because it is illegal, does not mean people do not do it all the time.

At our office, we have recently seen an influx of auto accident cases where individuals were hit by a driver who was driving a vehicle with a suspended license. A suspended license is like having no license at all under the law. A person’s license can be suspended for many reasons. Often our clients who were hit by a driver with a suspended license to not even realize it until they see a copy of the police report.

Everyone has heard the phrase “pedestrians have the right of way.” The purpose of this blog post is to give you more information on the rights and responsibilities of pedestrians under Louisianalaw. Those rights depend on many different factors, for example, is the pedestrian in a crosswalk or not in a crosswalk? How is the visibility for the driver and the pedestrian? What other traffic controls are present in the area? Is it an emergency situation? And many other factors, which are discussed here.

If you have been to New Orleans lately, you know many pedestrians do not obey traffic signals. It is common both for locals and tourists here to disregard a red-light and cross the street. After you read this article, you may understand why pedestrians are so nonchalant about violating this law.

When someone engages in improper conduct that injures you or a loved one, you’ll need to clear several hurdles to obtain compensation. Sometimes, the specific hurdles in your case may appear extraordinarily challenging or even impossible. Fortunately, though, many cases provide multiple different avenues for securing a verdict and damages award in your favor. With skilled counsel, you may be able to clear what seem like insurmountable obstacles. A case involving a tragic auto accident from Central Louisiana provides an illustration of this point.
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