The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in Guillot v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 2008-1485 (La. App. 4 Cir. 9/24/10), upheld awards of $2,775,000 to a mother and $2,100,000 to a father for the death of their 17 day old brain damaged baby who was surgically removed from the mother’s abdomen following an…
Effective January 1, 2010, Louisiana’s Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Law requires every motor vehicle registered in Louisiana to be insured with minimum limits of 15/30/25. La.R.S. 32:900. 15 = per person maximum for bodily injury or death in one accident 30 = maximum for bodily injury or death to…
Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon told the crowd at “The State of the Insurance Market in Louisiana: Five years Post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita” that the insurance market in Louisiana is stable, though more expensive. Commissioner Donelon attributed the stabilization to the $30 Billion paid by insurers in the aftermaths of…
Many new Louisiana traffic laws enacted during the 2010 Louisiana Legislative session will soon go into effect. Included in the new laws are the following: -(effective August 15, 2010) Text messaging, using a wireless communication device while driving a motor vehicle, are now a primary offense for all Louisiana drivers.…
Courts have recognized the potential for a “conspiracy of silence,” whereby local doctors would refuse to find one another at fault in medical negligence cases, and the adverse effects this would have on patients. To offset this danger in Louisiana, the specialist’s duty is governed by a national standard of…
The plaintiff in a medical negligence case is not required to show that she would have obtained a perfect outcome in the absence of medical treatment that fell below the accepted standard of care. Rather, the plaintiff may recover on a showing that the physician’s unacceptable care denied the plaintiff…
The burden of proving a superseding or intervening cause rests with the defendant and conjecture and possibility that another incident was involved as a causative factor of the injuries sustained is insufficient to prove an intervening cause; defendants must prove such intervening cause by a preponderance of the evidence. Lancon…
Loss of consortium is the term which the law uses to describe the loss of love, companionship, comfort and services which a family member might have provided if she had not been injured. You may consider the following factors in making this determination: loss of love and affection, loss of…
Louisiana law specifically recognizes the right of an injured victim to recover damages for past and future loss or impairment of the enjoyment of life, separate from and in addition to the right to recover damages for past and future physical pain and suffering and past and future mental anguish.…
Under Louisiana law, the tortfeasor may not benefit, and an injured plaintiff’s tort recovery may not be diminished, because of benefits received by the plaintiff from sources independent of the tortfeasor’s procuration or contribution. The purpose of this rule is to deter unreasonably dangerous conduct by making wrongdoers responsible for…