As recognized by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Dumas v. State, DCRT, 2002-0563 (La. 10/15/02), 828 So.2d 530, 537, prior to the 1996 tort reform amendments to La. C.C. arts. 2323 and 2324(B), the policy behind Louisiana’s tort law was ensuring that innocent victims received full compensation for their injuries.…
The Louisiana Supreme Court, in Watson v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Ins. Co., 469 So.2d 967, 974 (La. 1985), adopted the following factors (now known as the Watson factors) for determining the percentages of fault to be assigned to culpable tortfeasors, the trier of fact shall consider both the…
Establishing negligence under Louisiana law is accomplished via the following five prong duty / risk analysis: I. Was the conduct in question a substantial factor in bringing about the harm to the plaintiff, i.e., was it a cause in fact of the harm? -It is irrelevant in determining cause in…
Paul H. Dué visit superlawyers.com For the sixth straight year, Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury lawyer, Paul H. Dué of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. has been rated by Louisiana Super Lawyers. “Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have…
B. Scott Andrews visit superlawyers.com Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury lawyer, B. Scott Andrews, of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. has been recognized by Louisiana Super Lawyers 2012 in the practice area of Personal Injury-Plaintiff. “Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice…
The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld a $23 million St. Landry Parish jury verdict in favor of six members of an Opelousas, Louisiana family who were horribly burned in a house fire and explosion in June 2003. According to the family’s lead trial attorney, Randy Piedrahita, of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana…
In a case arising from a fire at an oil well site which left a worker severely burned, a deeply divided Louisiana Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision that a timely filed lawsuit against a worker’s statutory employer who is immune from tort liability and who had not paid…
Given the inherently dangerous nature of gas, gas companies are required to exercise the utmost care to reduce hazards to life as far as is practicable. A gas company is under a duty to safeguard against occurrences that can be reasonably expected or contemplated. When an accident or occurrence can…
It is well settled that gas is an inherently dangerous instrumentality because of its highly flammable and explosive character. Those who handle and distribute it are charged with the duty to exercise that degree of care commensurate with its dangerous character and necessary to protect the public from any foreseeable…
The dangerous nature and hazardous character of gas has been recognized and provision has been made for the regulation of its use in the interest of public safety. Moreover, our law recognizes the greater and higher than ordinary degree of care demanded of those involved in the manufacture, preparation and…