There is no presumption that a doctor possesses the required skill and knowledge required of him by the controlling medical standards and that in treating his patients, that he applies that knowledge and skill. Williams v. Golden, 95-2712 (La. App. 4 Cir. 7/23/97), 699 So.2d 102, 106-07, writ denied, 1997-2788…
Where medical disciplines overlap, a specialist in one field may give expert testimony as to the standard of care applicable to areas of the practice of medicine common to both disciplines. Corley v. State, DHH, 32,613 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/30/99), 749 So.2d 926, 931-32, citing Leyva v. Iberia General Hospital,…
In Sensebe v. Canal Indemnity Company, 2010-0703 (La. 1/28/2011), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that an “automobile business” exclusion in a Farm Bureau insurance policy violates Louisiana’s public policy of requiring insurance coverage as expressed in the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law, La. R.S.32:851 – 1043. Specifically, the Court…
In a medical negligence claim against a Louisiana doctor practicing in a specific specialty, the plaintiff has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the degree of knowledge or skill possessed, or the degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians licensed to practice and actively practicing…
In Louisiana, “[t]o establish a claim for medical malpractice, a plaintiff must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the standard of care applicable to the defendant; (2) the defendant breached that standard of care; and (3) there was a causal connection between the breach and the resulting injury.…
A plaintiff in a medical negligence case must present his claim first to a medical review panel of physicians of the same specialty as the defendant physician and licensed to practice in Louisiana. Physicians from other states or from different specialties can not be appointed to a medical review panel.…
On January 6, 2011, Chief Justice Catherine D. “Kitty” Kimball announced that the Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed the following five members to sit on the newly established Committee to Study Plain Civil Jury Instructions: -Committee Chairman: H. Alston Johnson, III, Phelps Dunbar law firm -Judge James E. Stewart, Second…
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,…
I recently purchased a Harley Davidson Soft-Tail Fat Boy motorcycle, and was quick to purchase a DOT compliant helmet because motorcycle accidents are a leading cause of head injuries and because helmets save lives. In fact, NHTSA “estimates that helmets saved 1,829 lives in 2008, and that 823 more could…
Shortly before midnight on January 6, 2011, a 65 year old California man was struck by an 18 Wheeler on Interstate 20 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, as he exited the driver’s side of his parked vehicle. Parking on the shoulder of a busy highway is extremely dangerous and should be…