Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog

October 29, 2015

Louisiana Supreme Court Permits Imposing Fees for Investigation, Prosecution Costs in DWI Cases

In an important new ruling, the Louisiana Supreme Court decided that courts may impose cost-of-investigation and cost-of-prosecution fees on a driver guilty of DWI, even if those fees do not have a specific, direct connection to that driver’s case. The ruling, a reversal of a previous Louisiana Court of Appeal decision in favor of a driver, states that the Louisiana statutes give trial courts broad discretion in assessing such fees, as long as they are reasonable and not excessive.

The driver challenging the fees was Jesse Griffin II, whom law enforcement officers arrested in July 2011 for first-offense DWI. A little more than a year later, the driver pled guilty. He received a suspended jail sentence and probation, along with a fine. The fine was $600, plus a $100 “cost of investigation” fee, payable to the local sheriff’s office, and another $100 for the “cost of prosecution,” payable to the local District Attorney.

Read more about Louisiana DWI related law.

October 15, 2015

Mall of Louisiana Patron Unable to Hold Department Store Liable for Injuries in Slip-and-Fall Accident

by Cardone Law Firm

A visitor to a department store recently lost her attempt to hold the store responsible for injuries she suffered in a slip-and-fall accident. The Louisiana Court of Appeal ruled that the store could not be held liable for the woman’s fall because she lacked “positive evidence” that the store had a dangerous condition that caused the guest to fall, and that the store allowed the dangerous condition to exist for an unreasonably long period of time without correcting it. The ruling points out the sometimes uncertain nature of pursuing a slip-and-fall case against a merchant that is based upon a theory that no possible explanation for the accident could exist other than the merchant’s negligence.

The incident leading to this lawsuit took place on a rainy June morning in 2013. Libby Ammon traveled to the Dillard’s store in Baton Rouge’s Mall of Louisiana to attend a 10:00 AM appointment with a Lancome make-up artist. Halfway between the store’s entry doors and the base of its escalators, Ammon slipped and fell. Ammon opined that, immediately before falling, she felt as though she had stepped “on ice or something.” Ammon fell on her hand and also hit her head and left side.

September 29, 2015

Louisiana Driver’s Plea was Valid Even Without Express Statement of Waived Rights Before Trial Judge

by Cardone Law Firm

When one is facing a charge of DWI, one can go to trial or engage in plea bargaining with the state. Deciding to negotiate a guilty plea, just like going to trial, carries with it its own set of potential advantages and disadvantages. If you plead guilty, the state can use that offense against you if you are charged again in the future for another DWI, unless you can show that your plea was improperly obtained. One driver from St. Tammany attempted to defeat his guilty plea by arguing that he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his rights. The Louisiana Court of Appeal was unpersuaded, though, since the evidence in the case showed a knowing and voluntary plea, even though the trial judge did not obtain an express statement of waiver of rights from the driver in open court.

On Aug. 31, 2010, a Louisiana State Trooper reported to the scene of a single-car accident on US 190 in St. Tammany Parish. In investigating the vehicle, the trooper found a bottle and a cup that smelled of alcohol. At a nearby hospital, the trooper performed sobriety tests, which the driver, Thomas Mason, III, failed. A blood-alcohol test yielded a result of 0.17. The driver had alcohol, Ambien, Xanax, and hydrocodone in his system.

September 15, 2015

Supreme Court Rules that Unintentional Spoliation of Evidence is Not a Cause of Action in Louisiana

by Cardone Law Firm

An insurance company and an auto auction company will not face being sued for spoliation of evidence based upon their negligent failure to preserve a vehicle involved in an auto accident that injured the vehicle’s driver. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s law does not recognize a civil claim for negligent spoliation of evidence, although the companies’ failure may allow the injured driver to sue for breach of contract.

In March 2008, a multi-vehicle wreck left Richard Reynolds injured and his car totaled. Reynolds sued one of the other drivers, Robert Bordelon III, for negligence for his role in the accident. In addition to suing Bordelon, Reynolds also advanced claims against the manufacturer of his 2003 Infiniti G35, stemming from the car’s failure to deploy its airbags in the crash. Despite the driver’s alleged requests to the contrary, the auction company that took possession of the Infiniti on behalf of Reynolds’s insurer did not preserve the car, which meant that it was never inspected for defects.

August 28, 2015

Louisiana Jury Entitled to Rule Against Injured Driver Despite Multiple Doctors’ Testimony at Trial

by Cardone Law Firm

In a recent Southeastern Louisiana case, the expert testimony of two doctors, along with a driver’s own testimony, was not enough to secure a verdict in the driver’s injury lawsuit against the owner of her trailer park. Since a jury’s finding can only be overturned when it is blatantly erroneous, and evidence existed in the driver’s case that cast doubt on the credibility of the driver’s testimony and that of her doctors, the Louisiana Court of Appeal concluded that the verdict was not reversible.

The case centered around Wendy Richardson’s single-car accident in July 2011. Allegedly, the driver’s vehicle lurched when the right rear tire landed in a hole in the surface of one the entrances to the trailer park where Richardson lived. The driver claimed that the accident caused her to suffer serious neck injuries that required spinal surgery to address.

August 27, 2015

Shortage of Proof Stymies Louisiana Family’s Negligence Suit in Fatal Motorcycle Crash

by Cardone Law Firm

Sometimes, when one driver crashes into another and injures or kills that second driver, there are more people or entities at fault than just that first driver. In the case of one motorcyclist’s death in a “demo ride” event, however, neither the event’s sponsor nor its host were liable. The Louisiana Court of Appeal agreed with a trial court’s conclusion that the deceased driver’s family failed to prove that the sponsor and host fell short of satisfying their duties to protect the safety of the motorcyclists.

Read more about motorcycle accidents.

In the early spring of 2010, Keith Alleman encountered a group of motorcyclists participating in a “demo ride” in a small town in Lafayette Parish. Alleman became distracted by the bikes and lost control of his car, slamming into a motorcycle driven by Ralph Doucet. Doucet died from his injuries.

July 28, 2015

The Risks of Negotiating a DWI Plea Arrangement in Louisiana Without a Lawyer

by Cardone Law Firm

A Jefferson Parish man received a decade in jail and a $5,000 fine for his 2013 DWI conviction. Why was his sentence so severe? Because the year before, the driver, facing four counts of DWI among other charges, negotiated his own plea deal without the assistance of an attorney. That 2012 deal resulted in four convictions on the four DWI counts, meaning that the state was entitled to charge him in 2013 as a fifth-time DWI offender. The Louisiana Court of Appeal recently affirmed his conviction and sentence on the 2013 charge, concluding that the man understood what he was doing when he voluntarily waived his right to an attorney in the first case.

Read more about DWI offenses in Louisiana.

John Henry Boyd, Jr. appeared in court in Jefferson Parish in April 2012 facing four counts of DWI, along with charges of resisting arrest, driving without a license, and possession of alcohol in a vehicle. Boyd, who was proceeding without a lawyer, agreed to take a deal offered by the prosecutor in which he pled guilty on all four DWI charges. In exchange, the state would drop the other charges Boyd was facing. Boyd signed four forms stating that his intent was to waive his rights and plead guilty.

July 15, 2015

Louisiana Court of Appeal Awards Family $325K After Toddler Breaks Arm on Daycare’s Age-Inappropriate Daycare Equipment

by Cardone Law Firm

A Jefferson Parish couple received a damages award in excess of $300,000 after their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter broke her arm while playing on a piece of playground equipment meant for children ages five and up. The fact that the child’s daycare satisfied the state’s standards for the minimum teacher-to-child supervision ratios did not automatically shield it from liability. Even though the daycare was adequately staffed, the Louisiana Court of Appeal decided that it could be found liable for not preventing the child from playing on equipment unsafe for someone of her age.

The accident victim was Kaitlyn Skillman, a toddler who attended the daycare facility owned and operated by the Riverside Baptist Church in Jefferson Parish. In September 2010, the 19-month-old girl fell from some playground equipment and injured her arm. The playset from which the child fell was recommended for children no younger than age five.

June 29, 2015

‘Open and Obvious’ Hazards and Premises Liability Cases in Louisiana

by Cardone Law Firm

A New Orleans woman suffered a significant leg injury when she fell on the property of the apartment she rented. The woman’s landlords sought to escape liability for her injuries by arguing that the hole that felled the tenant was “open and obvious” to all. The Louisiana Court of Appeal‘s recent decision upholding a trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment in favor of the landlords provided an insightful recitation regarding what a property owner must show to succeed on a claim of “open and obvious danger” in a premises liability case.

The case pitted a tenant, Jennifer Hooper, against her landlords, Val and Mary Brown. The apartment Hooper rented, located off Canal Boulevard, had a wooden front porch that, according to the tenant, contained at least one board that was rotten, leaving a hole in the porch. The landlords allegedly promised numerous times to fix the porch, but they did not. In September 2013, the tenant, who temporarily required the assistance of crutches, fell while attempting to enter the apartment, breaking her leg.

June 15, 2015

The Impact of Refusing a Blood-Alcohol Test on Your Louisiana Driver’s License

by Cardone Law Firm

If you’re arrested on suspicion of DWI, you have the option of refusing a chemical test to measure your blood-alcohol content. If you are arrested multiple times and refuse multiple tests, this may have an impact on the status of your Louisiana driver’s license. If the state suspends your license, the law gives you certain rights with regard to challenging that suspension. In one recent case, a ruling against a driver was overturned by the Louisiana Court of Appeal because a District Court did not follow the correct procedure for hearing the driver’s challenge of his license suspension.

The driver involved was Johnny Cook, Jr., whom law enforcement officers arrested in March 2013 on suspicion of driving drunk. The driver received the option of submitting to a breathalyzer test. Both the driver and the arresting officer signed a form stating that the officer informed the driver of his rights regarding chemical tests. Cook refused the test.