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On February 16, 2010, a Southland Steel Fabricators construction worker suffered a fatal traumatic brain injury and another worker sustained minor injuries in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after the construction workers fell 20 feet to the ground from a lift after it was struck by a beam.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 1,178 fatal work injuries occurred in the construction industry in 2007, the most of any industry, with laborers accounting for the largest number of fatal work injuries among construction occupations.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana brain injury attorney, Scott Andrews, construction workers injured or killed on the job are usually barred from filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit because of Louisiana’s strict worker’s compensation immunity for direct and statutory employers. However, if the construction worker’s accident was caused in part by the fault of the employee of a different subcontractor or independent contractor, then the injured construction worker may be able to file a third-party tort action. Injured workers or their families should always consult with an experienced industrial accident or construction accident injury attorney before accepting the employer’s representation that worker’s compensation is the exclusive remedy for the injury or death.
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A pickup truck crossed the center line and collided head-on with Trace Adkins’ tour bus in Caddo Parish, Louisiana on February 13, 2010. The truck driver and his passenger were killed instantly. Five members of Trace Adkins’ band received minor injuries.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana truck injury lawyer, Scott Andrews, when a driver on the wrong side of the road collides with another vehicle which is in its correct lane of travel, there is a presumption that the driver on the wrong side of the road is at fault, and he is required to show that he committed no fault, however slight, that contributed to the accident. This is in line with the general duty that a motorist owes to the traveling public of remaining in his own lane of traffic. When he undertakes to enter the lane devoted to approaching traffic he must be held strictly accountable for all damages resulting therefrom unless he clearly exhibits that his conduct in no wise contributed to the accident. In order to be exonerated, he must establish his freedom from all fault by convincing proof. The trespassing motorist having caused the accident by leaving his own traffic lane, is presumed guilty of negligence and the onus rests on him to demonstrate that the accident resulted from such a state of unforeseeable circumstances beyond his control and to which he did not contribute, that he could not extricate himself, despite the efficient use of all protective measures at his command.
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In an Illinois medical malpractice case involving a four year old girl who suffered brain damage at birth, LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the Illinois Supreme Court held on February 4, 2010, that a 2005 medical malpractice cap on noneconcomic damages, such as pain and suffering, is unconstitutional. The cap limited awards to $500,000 from doctors and $1,000,000 from hospitals. The Supreme Court reasoned: “That ‘everybody is doing it’ is hardly a litmus test for the constitutionality of the statute.”

According to Louisiana medial malpractice attorney, Scott Andrews, Louisiana’s medical malpractice cap on damages, which limits awards for noneconomic damages and lost earnings to $500,000, is also under attack. The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal had ruled the cap unconstitutional, but the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed on procedural grounds and remanded the case to the trial court for another trial on the issue. The Louisiana Legislature is expected to tackle the med mal cap again this legislative session with trial lawyers pushing for an increase in the cap on damages, and health care providers pushing for more restrictions on medical malpractice lawsuits.
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Former chamber of commerce director and dean of a technical college in Opelousas, Louisiana was killed in an accident with a big rig on January 29, 2010. The truck accident occurred when an 18 wheeler exited I-49 onto U.S. 190 and drove past the stop sign and into the path of the car being operated by the former dean. The dean was taken to a hospital in Opelousas where he was pronounced dead.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and the General Estimates System (GES), in 2006 there were 368,000 accidents involving large trucks. Of those, 77,000 accidents involved injuries and 4,321 accidents involved fatalities.
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On Sunday, February 7, 2010, a 25 year veteran of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office was killed while escorting a Mardi Gras float by motorcycle. The accident occurred when a car made an illegal left turn in front of the float and hit the deputy’s motorcycle as it was passing the float.

During this Mardi Gras season, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, reminds motorists to be on the lookout for vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians around Mardi Gras floats. It is best to assume that another vehicle or person is present but hidden, and therefore, to proceed with caution.
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President Barack Obama nominated former Louisiana State Bar Association President Elizabeth Erny Foote to serve as district judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. This brings the total number of pending federal district court nominees awaiting Senate approval in Louisiana to two. The other nominee is pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, where the case load has become so high that approximately 100 cases were recently transferred to a district judge in the Western District of Louisiana. Louisiana’s republican senator recently announced that he would not block the Louisiana nominees.

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2.3 million Toyota vehicles in the United States were recalled by Toyota Motor Corporation because of defective accelerator pedals. Because of a defective mechanism, the gas pedal can become stuck causing sudden acceleration. Included in the recall are the 2009-2010 Toyota RAV4; 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla; 2009-2010 Toyota Matrix; 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon; 2007-2010 Toyota Camry; 2010 Toyota Highlander; 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra; and the 2008-2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV. Toyota had been blaming the sudden acceleration problem on floor mats becoming lodged under or against the gas pedal.

Under Louisiana law, personal injury and wrongful death claims against Toyota for injuries caused by an unreasonably dangerous defective gas pedal are governed by the Louisiana Product Liability Act, La.R.S. 9:2800.51, et seq.
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Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Catherine “Kitty” Kimball continues to rapidly improve after successful surgery to remove a blockage which caused an ischemic stroke on Sunday, January 10, 2010.

Chief Justice Catherine Kimball continues to progress in her recovery from a stroke she suffered last Sunday, January 10, 2010. After being released from ICU last Wednesday, and spending a short time in a private room, Chief Justice Kimball was discharged from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge on Friday. She was admitted to a Rehabilitation Hospital to begin post-stroke therapy, and her condition improves daily.

On January 19, 2009, the Louisiana Supreme Court released the following update: “The Kimball family is very thankful for everyone’s concern and prayers. In particular, Chief Justice Kimball and her family wish to express their gratitude for the life-saving actions of Acadian Ambulance, and her doctors and their teams at Our Lady of the Lake, especially Dr. Keith Hodge, Dr. Jon Olson, Dr. Dwayne Anderson and Dr. Scott Shuber. They also wish to thank the Our Lady of the Lake team for the excellent care throughout her stay, with special thanks to John Paul Funes with the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation.”

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The Large Truck Crash Causation Study commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) concluded that: “Drivers of large trucks and other vehicles involved in truck crashes are ten times more likely to be the cause of the crash than other factors, such as weather, road conditions, and vehicle performance.” The Large Truck Causation Crash Study was based on a review of the pre-crash contributing factors and causes of large truck crashes involving commercial motor vehicles nation-wide. Of significant interest is that the Large Truck Causation Crash Study found that the critical reason for 43% of all truck crashes caused by tractor trailer drivers was the large truck driver’s decision errors, including driving too fast for conditions to be able to respond to unexpected actions of other road users; driving too slow for traffic stream; misjudgment of gap or other driver’s speed; following too closely to respond to unexpected actions; false assumption of other road user’s actions; making an illegal maneuver; taking inadequate evasive action, e.g. braking only, not braking and steering; aggressive driving behavior; and driving too fast for a curve/turn.
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A Tickfaw, Louisiana woman was killed on January 12, 2010 on I-12 in Hammond, Louisiana, when her 2004 Mercury Mountaineer sustained a rear left tire blowout, causing the SUV to roll over several times. The cause of the tire blowout is unknown at this time. It could have been caused by impact damage, excessive wear, or improper installation, inflation or maintenance. Or, many SUV rollover and tire blowout accidents are actually caused by product defects in the SUV and tire. In order to properly investigate the potential product defects in the SUV and tire, the SUV and tire must be preserved for testing.

Common tire defects include a lack of an adequate antidegradant and antioxidant package; inadequate adhesion in the tread belt system; lack of or insufficient belt edge wedges or “gum strips”; a thin inner liner that allows air to leak into the carcass of the tire; and lack of nylon overlays or cap plies. Correction of these common tire defects can prevent catastrophic tread belt separation that lead to tire blowout. Additionally, some SUVs are improperly designed and manufactured with defective handling characteristics; with a roof structure that does not maintain structural integrity in a rollover; with an extremely high center of gravity which results in a propensity to roll over; and with a suspension designed and manufactured in such a manner as to allow the rear end of the vehicle to skate under foreseeable circumstances, resulting in a propensity to overturn. Some SUV manufacturers have even allowed and approved the installation of larger size tires than the vehicle was designed for, thereby increasing the vehicle’s center of gravity and the potential for SUV rollover, and required a substandard inflation pressure for the SUV’s tires.
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