The Louisiana legislature has created an extensive statutory scheme governing medical negligence claims brought against doctors who qualify as “health care providers” under the statute. Two primary features of this scheme are: (1) the mandatory submission of all claims to a medical review panel prior to any suit being filed,…
The jury is not required to disregard testimony merely because the witness may be interested or biased. It is within the province of the trier of fact to place more probative value on the testimony of an interested witness than that of a disinterested witness. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d…
The Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal issued a News Release regarding fireworks safety issues this holiday season. Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning said, “Due to the fire hazard as well as the inherent risk of injury involved in fireworks, citizens are urged to use extreme caution when handling…
For the third time in four years, Louisiana’s largest medical malpractice insurer, LAMMICO (Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company) is issuing a large dividend of approximately $5.1 million to its Louisiana and Arkansas policyholders (including individual physicians and other health care professionals, groups & healthcare facilities). LAMMICO’s Louisiana doctors will get…
My good friend and colleague, Ed Walters, recently revised his 1987 list of things Baton Rouge lawyers do not do for a Wex Malone Inn of Court meeting and for publication in the Baton Rouge Bar Association‘s December 2010 edition of the Around the Bar magazine. Ed’s article is entitled…
By Act 75 of the 2010 Regular Legislative Session, Louisiana Revised Statute 9:2800.17 was enacted to provide as follows for liability for the diminution in the value of a damaged vehicle: Whenever a motor vehicle is damaged through the negligence of a third-party without being destroyed, and if the owner…
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. was selected for first tier (those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the highest scoring firms) inclusion in the 2010 inaugural rankings of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”, in the…
The July 2010 Louisiana bar examination results are posted on the Louisiana Supreme Court‘s website. LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center led all schools with a 76.8% passage rate. Tulane University Law School followed with a 73.2% passage rate; Loyola University College of Law had a 68.7% passage rate; and…
A victim who continued to smoke after spine surgery, despite being advised and urged by his doctor to stop smoking, was not guilty of failure to mitigate damages because he recognized the severity of his smoking addiction and vastly reduced the number of cigarettes consumed per day. According to the…
In Batiste v. Bayou Steel Corp., 10-1561 (La.10/1/2010), the Louisiana Supreme Court revisited the standard for establishing intentional tort as an exception to Worker’s Compensation exclusivity under Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1032(B). The plaintiff was tightening an electrode (in the course and scope of his employment) when his wrench slipped, causing…