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LOOK OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES!!!

According to performance measures developed by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The Governor’s Highway Safety Association, 80 motorcyclists were killed in Louisiana accidents in 2011, 59 of whom were helmeted. On June 15, 2013, another fatal motorcycle accident occurred on Louisiana Highway 1065 in Tangipahoa Parish. A Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana motorcyclist was killed when a an oncoming pickup truck allegedly made an illegal left turn into a private driveway on Louisiana Highway 1065 near its intersection with Louisiana Highway 442 in Tickfaw, Louisiana. The motorcycle crashed into the side of the pickup truck and, despite wearing a helmet, the rider was pronounced dead at the scene.
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On May 22, 2013, Randy Piedrahita and the Baton Rouge, Louisiana law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. were chosen by the government of Baton Rouge to represent Baton Rouge in its claims for millions of dollars in losses attendant to the BP oil spill. Randy and the Dué firm will begin working with Farrell and Patel, a Florida firm with extensive experience with BP oil spill claims, which had previously filed suit for Baton Rouge.

Read the article in The Advocate.

Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. also represents private citizens and businesses injured by the BP oil spill, the worst natural catastrophe in American history. Its clients include fishermen, processors, leaseholders, businesses and restaurants directly injured by the spill, both locally and as far away as Tennessee.
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Louisiana State Police investigated the ninth auto accident fatality of the year in Troop D yesterday in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. According to the LSP news release, a truck driven by an unbelted DeRidder man crossed the center line of Louisiana Highway 26. An oncoming SUV took evasive action, but was unable to avoid a collision into the belted driver’s door. The truck flipped several times, ejecting the unbelted driver who was pronounced dead at the scene. The belted driver of the SUV sustained moderate injuries. According to the news release, eight of the nine auto fatalities in Troop D were of unbelted drivers.

Nationwide statistics show that for SUV, pickup, and van occupants, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60%. And, while air bags can save lives of belted occupants, they can actually make injuries much worse for unbelted occupants. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana accident and injury lawyers at Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. encourage everyone to buckle-up and to remember that most fatal crashes happen within 25 miles from home.
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Louisiana Trial Lawyer, B. Scott Andrews, of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C., has been selected for membership in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Scott Andrews is already a 2012-2013 member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40.

The National Trial Lawyers is a member-driven organization composed of premier trial lawyers from across the country who meet stringent qualifications as civil plaintiff trial lawyers. Through educational and networking opportunities, the organization strives to help its members build law practices which encompass superior knowledge, skill, experience and success.

Only top trial lawyers from Louisiana who are actively practicing in civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense law are eligible for invitation. Invitees must demonstrate superior qualifications, leadership skills, and trial results as a legal professional. The selection process for this elite honor is based on a multi-phase process which includes peer nominations combined with third party research. Prospective members of The National Trial Lawyers are carefully screened prior to receiving an invitation for membership. Membership is not automatically renewed; attorneys are reevaluated annually to determine whether their activities and accomplishments qualify them for continued membership.
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Baton Rouge, Louisiana motorcycle accident lawyer, Scott Andrews, of the Louisiana motorcycle injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. sends many thanks to Redman Pools and the Blowout’s for the fabulous Blowout’s 2nd Annual Biker Bash Rally at the Galveston County Fairgrounds in Hitchcock, Texas in March 2013. “Riding my new Harley Road Glide from Baton Rouge, Louisiana through Pecan Island, across the Gulf Coast and through Port Arthur, Texas on the way to Galveston was a visual smorgasbord of everything great Louisiana and Texas have to offer,” says Andrews. A great time was had by all at the Biker Bash Rally!! Ride Safe and Ride Often!
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Every member (Paul H. Dué, Kirk A. Guidry, Randy A. Piedrahita and B. Scott Andrews) of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. has been named to the 2013 Super Lawyers list for Louisiana. The reason is clear – more than 25 years handling referrals of complex and difficult personal injury cases from lawyers around the world. This success is rooted in academia, with all firm members having graduated at the top of their law school class and having served as members of or as editors of their Law Reviews. The firm boasts former Louisiana Supreme Court and U.S. Fifth Circuit law clerks, Adjunct Professors of Law, past Presidents of the Louisiana Association for Justice, and both a former Louisiana appellate judge and an esteemed University of Texas Law Professor “of counsel”.

This background, combined with hard work and extensive experience, has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. This success has been shared with the many attorneys who refer cases to the firm – who find the firm’s experience and funding assistance invaluable in representing their clients.

The members of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. combine their academic backgrounds, practical trial experience and financial “staying power” to add up to success for clients and the lawyers trusting the firm with referrals.
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In Louisiana, any individual procuring life insurance may name any person as the beneficiary.

No person can procure a life insurance contract upon the life of another person, unless payable to the individual insured or his personal representatives, or to a person with an insurable interest in the individual insured at the time the contract was made. Insurable interest includes only

1. In the case of individual related closely by blood or by law, a substantial interest engendered by love and affection.

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Life insurance policies delivered or issued for delivery in Louisiana shall contain a provision that the life insurance policy shall be incontestable after the policy has been in force during the lifetime of the insured for a period of two years from its date of issue, except for non-payment of premium.

Additionally, no policy shall exclude or restrict coverage in the event of death occurring as a result of self-destruction while sane or insane after two years from the date of issue of the policy. There is a presumption against suicide. The insurer bears the burden of proving the deceased insured committed suicide to the exclusion of every other reasonable hypotheses of death by any other means. However, it is not required to offer proof sufficient to eliminate every speculative, fantastic, conjectural, frivolous, and imaginary hypothesis of death in any other way.

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury trial lawyer, Paul H. Dué, has been selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America, 19th edition for his work in the practice areas of Admiralty & Maritime Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Product Liability Litigation. Listing in the 2013 edition marks fifteen years since Paul H. Dué was first listed in Best Lawyers. Through this distinction Paul H. Dué has proven to be a consistent and dedicated member of the law community.

Selection for Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprised of more than 4 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Our annual Best Lawyers publication has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

Best Lawyers in America is one of the most visible and targeted peer review publications in the legal profession.

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Dué, Guidry Piedrahita & Andrews has been named to the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2013 list, with first tier rankings in Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs and Product Liability-Plaintiff. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm has been ranked in the first tier every year since the inception of the Best Law Firms rankings.

The U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings provide a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession that is unprecedented both in the range of firms represented and in the range of qualitative and quantitative data used to develop the rankings.

The third edition of these rankings features law firms given consistently impressive performance ratings by clients and peers. Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise.

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