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Louisiana injury lawyer Scott Andrews, of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué, Guidry, Piedrahita and Andrews was certified elected as a 19th Judicial District Court delegate (2010-2012 term) to the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association. The House of Delegates is the policy making body of the Louisiana State Bar Association and controls the non-fiscal affairs of the LSBA. This is Scott Andrews’s third consecutive elected term to the LSBA House of Delegates.

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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.
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The Proctor & Gamble Company voluntarily recalled approximately 700,000 Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps (UPC#: 3 23900 01087 1) sold nationwide in drug stores, grocery stores and other retail establishments between September 2008 and December 2009. The cold and flu medicine contains acetaminophen and is not in child-resistant packaging and lacks the statement, “This Package for Households Without Young Children,” as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. The recalled Vicks Dayquil Liquicaps could cause serious health problems or death to a child if several of the capsules are swallowed. The recalled Vicks Dayquil Liquicaps should be kept out of the reach of children. Consumers and users should contact Procter & Gamble for more information.
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“The peculiar genius of the jury system is its reliance on the common sense and common experience of ordinary men and women to determine definitively much that cannot be known absolutely.” Miller v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 578 F.2d 125 (5th.1978).

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A Rottweiler dog attacked and killed a 20 month old boy in Florida while the boy was reaching for a cookie he had dropped on the ground.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, says “animal attacks occur too often and are usually by dogs trained to be vicious by their owners or by dogs that are not properly supervised by their owners.” In Louisiana, damages caused by animals are governed by Louisiana Civil Code article 2321, which provides that the owner of a dog is “strictly liable for damages for injuries to person or property caused by the dog and which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person’s provocation.” The owners of all other animals in Louisiana are “answerable for the damage caused by the animal” upon a showing that the owner knew or should have known that his animal’s behavior would cause damage, and that by the exercise of reasonable care, the damage could have been prevented.
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Around 26,000 defective log splitters manufactured from November 2008 through October 2009 by MTD Products Inc. of Cleveland Ohio, have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. The reason for the recall is that the control handle of the log splitter could fail to automatically return to the neutral position as it should and could fail to stop the splitting wedge from moving forward, posing an amputation risk to a user’s hands and fingers.

The recalled log splitters were sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, Walmart, hardware stores and by independent dealers from November 2008 through October 2009. Go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website for a complete list of the log splitter brand names and model numbers included in the log splitter recall.

This is an especially bad time of the year in Louisiana for a defective log splitter to be in the stream of commerce. As a young boy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, has vivid recollections of splitting fire wood for the North Louisiana winters, and was especially excited when his father would come home with a log splitter to ease the work load. Scott Andrews reminds consumers to “stop using the recalled log splitters immediately and to contact the manufacturer for further instructions.” Injury attorney Andrews also reminds injured consumers that if a finger is traumatically amputated, it can be reimplanted if the amputated finger is taken to the hospital in a timely and proper manner.
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The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held that an award for future medical expenses can be supported by testimony that future medical expenses will be required, even in the absence of any evidence as to the specific cost of such future treatment. It is proper for the trial court to determine future medical expenses on the basis of the record, past medical expenses, and other evidence. Since the plaintiff’s past medical expenses exceeded $326,000, an award of $150,000 for future medical expenses was proper. Goza v. Parish of West Baton Rouge, 2008-0086 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/5/09), 21 So.3d 320, writ denied, 2009-2146 (La.12/11/09), citing Levy v. Bayou Indus. Maintenance Services, Inc., 03-0037 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/26/03), 855 So.2d 968, 975, writs denied, 03-3161, 03-3200 (La. 2/6/04), 865 So.2d 724, 727.

This personal injury legal update is provided by Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury lawyer Scott Andrews of the Louisiana accident and injury law firm, Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C..

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana attorney, Paul H. Dué, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America ® 2010 for the sixteenth straight year (1995-2010), this time in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation and Products Liability. (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). Inclusion in Best Lawyers ® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 32,000 attorneys cast almost two million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their specialties. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed for inclusion in Best Lawyers ®.
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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.
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On December 7, 2009, an 18 wheeler tanker truck overturned on the I-49 on-ramp at U.S. Highway 190 in Opelousas, Louisiana. The tractor tanker reportedly leaked sodium hydroxide, which is a hazardous chemical that can cause burns on the skin. According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana truck accident attorney, Scott Andrews, accidents involving overturned tractor trailers on interstate on-ramps and off-ramps are usually “avoidable accidents.” Tanker drivers must have a tank endorsement to operate a tanker, which endorsement is intended to ensure that the tanker operator has been trained in how to operate a tanker and its constantly shifting liquid contents. If the tractor tanker is operated in a safe manner and at a safe speed, the 18 wheeler should not overturn.

Fortunately, no one appears to have been harmed by the toxic and hazardous chemical reportedly spilled. Unfortunately, the truck driver and his employer may escape from any liability because no one was injured. Prior to the 1996 tort reform in Louisiana, operators of trucks transporting toxic and hazardous substances could be punished by awards of punitive or exemplary damages for their wanton and reckless conduct. Now, trucking companies that act in a wanton or reckless manner are no longer subject to punishment, and can only be held liable for the actual harm they cause.
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