Articles Posted in Car Wreck

| by

On January 4, 2010, and 18 wheeler being operated by a Jonesboro, Louisiana man traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 167 near the Jackson Parish and Winn Parish line crossed the center line and struck an oncoming car being operated by a Winnfield, Louisiana woman. Both drivers were killed.

While Louisiana is a pure comparative fault state, meaning that the fault of each person, however slight, must be apportioned, a driver who crosses the center line and strikes a vehicle in its proper lane of travel is presumed to be at fault for causing the auto accident.
Continue reading

| by

Around 3:05 a.m. on Friday, January 1, 2010, an Eros man was killed when the driver of the truck he was occupying lost control and struck a tree in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. Both occupants were ejected since neither was wearing a seat belt.

Under Louisiana law, the doctrine of comparative fault applies to auto accidents. However, failure to wear a seat belt cannot be used to show comparative fault or failure to mitigate damages. If the driver is intoxicated, and he/she is at least 25% at fault in causing the accident, then he/she cannot recover for his/her own injuries. If the driver is intoxicated, the passenger may be at fault for riding with an intoxicated driver. If the roadway or shoulder is defective or if the struck tree is too close to the highway, then the State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development, may be partially at fault. The legal rights that attach to a car wreck are complicated. In order to better understand your legal rights, you should contact an experienced attorney if you are seriously injured or if a loved one suffers a wrongful death in an automobile or truck accident.
Continue reading

| by

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana senior citizen was killed in a September 3, 2009 car accident on Jefferson Highway near its intersection with Airline Highway when she turned left into the path of an oncoming vehicle. It was initially presumed that the senior citizen was completely at fault in causing the accident, but further investigation revealed that the oncoming motorist was exceeding the posted speed limit. Because speed, and not the improper left turn, was determined to be the main factor in the car crash because the senior citizen would have been able to complete her turn if the oncoming motorist had been driving the speed limit, the speeding motorist was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of reckless operation of a vehicle and one count of negligent homicide.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, of the Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C., “all too often the investigating police officer assumes that when a car accident occurs involving a left turning motorist, that the left turning motorist must be at fault and no further investigation is conducted.” Fortunately for the family of the senior citizen killed in the Jefferson Highway automobile accident, the police continued their investigation and uncovered the truth–that the auto accident was avoidable had the oncoming motorist been acting reasonably.
Continue reading

| by

Effective January 1, 2010, new minimum liability limits of 15-30-25 for automobile insurance will go into effect in the State of Louisiana. The minimum limits are currently 10-20-10. For auto insurance policies issued after January 1, 2010, victims of Louisiana car wrecks will have at least $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident in available bodily injury liability insurance available to compensate them for the injuries and damages caused by a Louisiana insured driver. Under Louisiana law, insurers are also required to offer underinsured and uninsured (UM) motorist bodily injury liability coverage to their insureds in the same amount as the bodily injury liability insurance.

Prior to the change in Louisiana law, Louisiana was one of only two states in the United States with minimum automobile bodily injury liability limits of 10-20-10, with the 48 other states having higher liability limits. Even with the improvement in Louisiana law, Louisiana is still one of only nine states with 15-30 or less in bodily injury liability limits. Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas all have minimum automobile bodily injury liability limits of 25-50-25. Hopefully, the Louisiana Legislature and Governor will see fit one day to place Louisiana accident victims on the same level of financial protection as the accident victims in our neighboring states. Until then, Louisiana will continue to rank at or near the bottom of yet another national list.
Continue reading

| by

A twenty-one year old Franklinton man was killed December 2, 2009, on Louisiana Highway 1082 in Covington, Louisiana. The motorcycle rider reportedly was passing several cars when he encountered a 2005 Crown Victoria that was turning left onto Pat O’Brien Road. The Suzuki motorcycle and car collided and the motorcycle rider was thrown from his bike and died at the accident scene.

According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, 59 motorcycle crashes claimed 4 lives in St. Tammany Parish in 2008. For motorcycle riders, “the best offense is a good defense. Never pass at or near and intersection and always assume the other driver does not see you and your bike,” says Scott Andrews of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C.. Attorney Scott Andrews rode a motorcycle in college and had more than his share of close calls with inattentive motorists and substandard highways. Scott Andrews reminds motorcycle riders to “always keep a look-out and drive safely.”
Continue reading

| by

Two adults and thirteen children were riding in a mini-van on Interstate 10 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, around mid-night on November 28, 2009, when a tire blew out, causing the mini-van to strike a box truck in the adjacent lane. The mini-van rolled over several times, ejecting the thirteen unrestrained children. The driver and five of the children are confirmed dead.

This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts and prayers go out to the families of all involved. If the Ford/Firestone rollover/blow-out litigation taught us anything, it is that tire blow-outs and vehicle roll-overs are a dangerous, and often fatal, combination. A properly designed and manufactured tire should not blow-out unless the tire suffers impact damage or has been improperly installed, inflated or maintained. And, a vehicle that sustains a tire blow-out should not rollover under expected and reasonable evasive maneuvers. Any time a tire-blow occurs and a death or serious injury occurs, the tire and vehicle should be preserved so that failure analysis can be conducted. Without the tire and vehicle, it is virtually impossible to determine the cause of the blow-out and rollover, and any legal rights the victims might have against the tire and vehicle manufacturer may be lost.
Continue reading

| by

Three young adults from Farmerville, Louisiana, were killed on Friday, November 27, 2009, when the driver of their car ran a stop sign at Louisiana Highway 33 in Union Parish and drove directly into the path of a Freightliner Log Truck.

So far this year, 36 fatal car crashes in northeastern Louisiana have caused 42 deaths.
Continue reading

| by

The mayor of Monroe, Louisiana and a Monroe City Police Officer were involved in a car wreck at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 15 and Louisiana Highway 33 in Richland Parish.

The auto accident occurred when a Chevrolet Tahoe failed to yield at the intersection, resulting in a collision with the City of Monroe Impala occupied by the mayor and the officer. All three drivers were treated at St. Francis Medical Center for minor injuries.
Continue reading

| by

A 6 year old Morganza, Louisiana, child was killed on November 15, 2009, while getting off of a school bus on Louisiana Highway 1, north of Louisiana Highway 420, in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. The school bus driver had activated the bus’s safety signals, but the oncoming driver of a Ford car, nevertheless, struck and killed the child as he exited the school bus. The driver of the Ford car was booked into the Pointe Coupee Parish Prison for failure to stop while bus signals are activated and for negligent homicide.

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration reports that between 1996 and 2006, there were approximately 1,536 fatal school transportation-related motor vehicle traffic crashes, with one-half (50%) of all school-age pedestrians who were killed being between the ages of 5 and 7. The National School Bus Safety Week is held the third full week of October every year. The next School Bus Safety Week will be October 18-22, 2010. Do not wait until then to practice school bus safety. Our children’s lives are too important to take chances–always stop when school bus signals are activated and never pass a school bus. Be patient, a child’s life may depend on it.
Continue reading

| by

A motorcyclist trying to enter Interstate 20 in Shreveport, Louisiana, was killed on November 14, 2009, when his motorcycle struck a barrier on the overpass and then plunged about thirty feet onto Interstate 20 below.

Often times, overpass curves, guardrails, or barriers are defectively designed or maintained and can contribute to vehicle accidents. Motorcyles and automobiles being operated under normal or expected conditions should not vault over a guardrail or other overpass barrier.
Continue reading