Generally, no person shall be liable for damages for injury, death, or loss of the operator of a motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or vessel who is found to be in excess of 25% negligent as a contributing factor in causing his damages as a result of operating a motor vehicle,…
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…
Posecai v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 99-1222 (La.11/30/99), 752 So.2d 762, 766-68, held that while Louisiana business owners generally have no duty to protect others from the criminal acts of third persons, they do have a duty to implement reasonable measures to protect their patrons from criminal acts when those acts…
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…
Stacking of multiple UM (uninsured/underinsured motorist) liability policies is prohibited by the Anti-Stacking provision contained in La.R.S. 22:1295(1)(c), unless the injured party is occupying an automobile not owned by him/her, a resident spouse, or a resident relative. In that instance, the UM coverage on the automobile in which the injured…
In the absence of physical contact, the insured can prove “by an independent and disinterested witness, that the injury was the result of the actions of the driver of another vehicle whose identify is unknown.” La. R.S. 22:1295(1)(f). This is “justifiable because miss and run is too fraud-fraught: every driver…