Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog

July 30, 2019

Bicyclist Dies After a Collision With an SUV

Any time one experiences the death of a loved one due to the negligence of others, it is a painful time. The handling of a death case requires a knowledgeable and skilled attorney who has years of experience with wrongful death and survival action cases. A fox8live.com report followed the story of a southeastern Louisiana man killed in an auto accident. Steven was a 59-year-old bicyclist headed west on LA-58 in Terrebonne Parish.

According to reports, a driver in a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, who was also traveling westbound on LA-58, approached Steven from behind. She hit Steven’s bicycle with the front of her SUV. The injuries inflicted on Steven in the accident were catastrophic. The local coroner’s office pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the fox8live.com report.

July 29, 2019

St. Tammany Jury Awards a Mother and Two Children $1.3M After Getting Rear-Ended by Drunk Driver

by Cardone Law Firm

When many people think about New Orleans and Louisiana, they think about jazz, Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, and Mardi Gras. Fun, parties, and celebration all come to mind, which is very true about the Big Easy. However, with these happy pursuits come the responsibility to party responsibly. Unfortunately, some people do not do so and the result is drunk driving. When a driver makes the decision to drive under the influence of alcohol, causes an accident and ultimately harms others, the state may pursue criminal charges against the drunk driver. The victims injured as a result of the driver’s poor decision-making may also be entitled to money damages in civil court. If you’ve been hurt by a drunk driver, you should seek the advice of an experienced Louisiana drunk driving accident attorney.

Regrettably, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drunk driving-related fatalities are on the increase in Louisiana. In one recent year, the NHTSA concluded that almost 250 of the state’s traffic deaths were alcohol-related. That was up from just below 220 only four years earlier. Many times, drunk driving accidents do not cause fatalities but still inflict serious harm. That was the case for one Mandeville woman and her children, who sued after being hurt in a crash on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, nola.com reported.

July 29, 2019

How to Win a Louisiana Auto Accident Case if You Didn’t Have Permission to Drive the Vehicle?

by Cardone Law Firm

If you found yourself involved in an auto accident where you’ve been rear-ended and suffered injuries, what would you do? Would you know the best way to go about pursuing your legal options and getting the fullest and fairest amount of compensation possible? Certainly, you might know that you have the option to pursue a case against the driver who rear-ended you and her auto insurer for damages. However, would you know that your options may not end there?

If the totality of your damages goes beyond the policy limit of the auto insurance policy that the rear-ending driver has with her insurer, you can take an additional step, which is to seek payment under a different insurance policy’s underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage — the coverage on the vehicle you were driving. As is the case in a lot of auto accident lawsuits that involve possible insurance coverage, the insurance company may be aggressive in seeking out avenues that will allow it to avoid paying. That’s one reason why, if you’ve been rear-ended and hurt, you need to be sure you have an experienced Louisiana injury attorney on your side every step of the way.

July 26, 2019

Verdict Upheld Where It Was ‘Clear from the Record’ that the Defendant Was Liable

by Cardone Law Firm

In civil litigation, there are several processes that go on at the same time. One is the conducting of the adversarial process in accordance with the rules of court that exist in Louisiana. Civil litigation, of course, is not just a mere game; it is more than just a series of rules and a contest that determines a winner and a loser. It is also the pursuit of justice. To achieve that end, the law allows you certain latitude in the conduct of your case. Put another way, Louisiana law is clear that hyper-technical compliance with rules should never trump fundamental fairness and should not prevent a deserving person from obtaining justice through a civil judgment. To ensure you get the justice you deserve in the Louisiana courts, make sure you have a knowledgeable New Orleans injury attorney on your side.

To understand this importance of prioritizing justice over hyper-technical compliance, there’s the case of B.T. and G.B. from Monroe. The injury that spawned this lawsuit arose from an intersection collision. D.T. ran through a stop sign and hit the vehicle driven by B.T. The impact hurt both B.T. and her passenger, G.B. B.T. and G.B. sued D.T. and his insurer. In their lawsuit, the pair alleged that D.T., by failing to yield at the stop sign, was 100% to blame for the accident and for their injuries. While the lawsuit named both D.T. and the insurer as defendants, only the insurer was served initially.

July 26, 2019

Slip-and-Fall or Trip-and-Fall Accident Cases and ‘Constructive Notice’ in Louisiana

by Cardone Law Firm

Everyone has an expectation that the property will be safe when they go inside a store, whether it’s a small market or a big-box superstore. That means floors should be free of slip and fall hazards and aisles void of trip and fall hazards, among other things. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. When you’re hurt in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident on a merchant’s property, there are certain things you must do as part of your Louisiana lawsuit. To make sure you are putting together the right case to get you the successful outcome you seek, be sure to reach out to an experienced New Orleans injury attorney.

Whether your slip-and-fall incident is a merchant liability case or one against a private property owner, you must show that the property owner had actual notice of the hazard or else had “constructive notice.” Constructive notice means that the dangerous condition existed for a long enough period of time that the property owner would have known about it if it “exercised reasonable care.”

July 25, 2019

Freak Accident at a Ryder Cup Highlights Issue of Unusual Accidents

by Cardone Law Firm

Premises liability-related injuries can come in a variety of types. People most commonly picture these types of cases as “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” scenarios, but the reality is that there’s an array of accidents that can lead to your potentially receiving compensation in a successful premises liability lawsuit. Want to know more? Contact an experienced New Orleans injury attorney to find out how the law applies to your specific circumstance.

Recently, news sources like USA Today reported on the unfortunate and graphic injury a spectator suffered at Ryder Cup golf event in France. One of the golfers hit an errant shot that veered into the gallery and struck the woman in the face. Reports described the injury as an “exploded” eyeball and indicated that doctors expected the woman to lose sight in that eye permanently.

July 25, 2019

How to File a Louisiana Injury Lawsuit in a Different Parish

by Cardone Law Firm

In a Louisiana personal injury legal case, you may hear many technical words and phrases tossed around. You might hear things like “venue,” “personal jurisdiction,” “subject matter jurisdiction” or “territorial jurisdiction.” These things can be extremely important to your case because if you sue in the wrong court where jurisdiction isn’t present your action may get dismissed. Even if you are allowed to re-file later, it will cost you valuable time and may cost you your case entirely if the statute of limitations has run out. That’s why it is so important to get it right the first time. To that end, you should be sure that you have legal representation from a knowledgeable New Orleans injury attorney, to avoid these legal traps that can potentially stymie otherwise deserving plaintiffs.

One injury case that included extensive arguments about jurisdiction was the auto accident case of C.T. C.T. was injured in New Orleans in the fall of 2011. One year minus one day later, she sued in parish court in Jefferson Parish to seek compensation for her injuries. The injured woman sued the other driver and his auto insurer. The defense tried to attack the lawsuit using a procedural approach. They argued that because the accident happened in Orleans Parish and the defendant driver lived in Orleans Parish, the court in Jefferson Parish didn’t have jurisdiction to try the case.

July 24, 2019

Getting the Evidence in Your Staircase Slip-and-Fall Case in Louisiana

by Cardone Law Firm

When you are injured in a trip-and-fall or slip-and-fall accident on the premises of a commercial building, you may have various options. Your legal claim for damages may properly seek compensation from the building’s owner, or perhaps against a tenant. The key is to determine who legally “controlled” the area where you were injured and to target that party (or parties) in your legal action. To make sure your case in handled with optimal efficiency and effectiveness, be sure to retain the services of an experienced New Orleans injury attorney.

Recently, a woman was injured while exiting a commercial building in New Orleans. E.C. was leaving the building when she stepped onto a set of cement stairs and fell. The staircase did not have a handrail. E.C. suffered serious injuries, including multiple disc herniations, left knee strain and nerve damage. The injured woman pursued the owner of the building in her lawsuit.

July 24, 2019

How a ‘Smushed Grape’ Caused a Slip-and-Fall Injury

by Cardone Law Firm

Sometimes, you may have some – but not all – of the information you need about a legal matter. Say, for example, you are injured during a slip and fall at a business because a spill was left on the floor. You may know that this spill potentially makes the business liable for your injuries. However, how long must the spill have been on the floor in order for you to win your case? What types of evidence do you need to demonstrate that the spill was there long enough? These and other things may, quite reasonably, be outside the scope of your knowledge. That’s why, if you’ve experienced a slip-and-fall injury, you should equip yourself and your case with the knowledge provided by a skilled New Orleans injury attorney.

A recent case from here in New Orleans involved actual facts similar to the hypothetical ones above. A guest at a New Orleans casino slipped, fell and got hurt crossing a walkway. She allegedly slipped because she stepped on some food on the floor. According to the guest, she was in the process of leaving the casino and was passing through a dimly lit area between a restaurant and a lounge when she slipped. Allegedly, a casino employee told her she slipped on a “smushed grape.”

July 23, 2019

Meeting All Your Filing Deadlines So You Don’t Lose Out on Your Ability to Pursue Your Louisiana Injury Case

by Cardone Law Firm

In your auto accident injury case, you’ll likely face many types of opposition from the other side. They may argue that you do not have enough evidence to have a valid case, that you’ve sued the wrong party, that the court lacks jurisdiction to rule for you, or that you’ve fallen short of procedural requirements, such as filing deadlines. Whether the potential hurdle placed in your way is jurisdictional, factual or procedural, it is important to have a skilled advocate on your side to overcome that hurdle. For this kind of representation, be sure to rely on a skilled and experienced Louisiana injury attorney.

One type of filing deadline with which many people are familiar is the statute of limitations. There are actually many other deadlines, depending on the circumstances, imposed by the statutes and the court rules. These deadlines are very important, because missing even one may be enough to cause the dismissal of your case, meaning you receive no compensation.