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The family of a football player who suffered a brain injury in a football game one month after suffering a concussion settled their case against La Salle University for $7,500,000. The family claimed in their lawsuit that the earlier concussion made the football player more vulnerable to brain damage from another severe blow to the head.

Better training on proper tackling techniques and proper blocking have greatly reduced the number of paralyzing football injuries. However, there remains an enormous amount of controversy and disagreement over the seriousness of concussion injuries. Just this season, Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger went down with concussion injuries. Certainly, these three stars received the finest medical treatment available and did not return to play until it was neurologically safe to do so. However, many young men and women do not receive proper treatment and are pushed back onto the field by over zealous coaches before it is safe to return to full contact, and are unnecessarily exposed to a high risk of brain injury.

The Louisiana injury lawyers at Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. are no strangers to sports injury cases, having handled one of the most well-known reported sports injury cases in Louisiana– Fox v. Board of Supervisors, involving a rugby player rendered quadriplegic after being allegedly improperly tackled by an opposing player.
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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.”
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Time-computation amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Appellate Procedure went into effect on December 1, 2009.

These amendments implement a consistent method of calculating time periods throughout the federal rules, a method that counts every day, instead of excluding weekends and holidays for some periods but not others. Most of the amendments lengthen time periods by a few days, to offset the effect of counting weekends and holidays and to express time periods of less than 30 days in 7-day multiples. Most of the periods either remain the same or are lengthened: 5-day periods become 7-day periods, and 10-day periods become 14-day periods.

Congress has enacted changes to 28 statutory time periods affecting court proceedings to be consistent with this new, simplified computation approach. The United States District Courts for the Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana and Eastern District of Louisiana revised their local rules to be consistent with the national rule and statutory changes.

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Paul H. Dué of the Louisiana injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was selected for inclusion for the fourth year in 2010 Louisiana Super Lawyers in the field of Personal Injury-Plaintiff.

Louisiana Super Lawyers magazine has been published in Louisiana since 2007, and it lists attorneys in private practice, prosecutors, in-house counsel and public service. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. Attorneys are chosen for inclusion by a peer polling, research, and selection process that attempts to identify the top five percent of lawyers in each state. Congratulations Paul Dué!
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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.
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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.
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From all of the attorneys and staff at Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

On this glorious day, we should all remember the things for which we are thankful. I am especially thankful for all of the sacrifices that the men and women in the armed services have made so that we can enjoy such a wonderful and bountiful holiday.

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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.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of millions of Stork Craft drop-side cribs on November 23, 2009, following reports of one hundred ten drop-side detachments and four infant deaths. The CPSC determined that a gap can be created between the mattress and the drop-side rail when a piece of the claw on the lower right side of the drop-side rail breaks, allowing the claw to disengage from the lower right side t-rail of the crib.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that at least one Louisiana baby’s death has been caused by mechanical asphyxia that occurred when he was trapped in a gap between the drop-side rail and the crib’s mattress. The Louisiana baby’s parents filed suit against the crib manufacturer in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The CPSC reminds parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts, and to not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.
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The 200 foot boom of a crane collapsed onto a fabrication shop at Elevated Boats, Inc. in Houma, Louisiana, killing one man and injuring another on November 17, 2009. The collapse occurred when the steel base of the crane ripped and detached while the crane operator was moving a 30 ton weight from the flat bed of an 18 wheeler. The accident remains under investigation by OSHA.

A crane collapse is usually caused by operator error, defective design of the crane or a component part, or improper maintenance. When injured or killed on-the-job by a crane collapse in Louisiana, worker’s compensation is often the exclusive remedy for the injured or killed worker. However, if the crane or a component part is defective, or if the crane was improperly maintained or negligently operated by a contractor or other third-person who is not considered an employer or co-employee, a claim may be made outside of the worker’s compensation scheme. And, when an on-the-job crane collapse in Louisiana is covered by the Jones Act or General Maritime Law, a claim for injury or death can sometimes even be made against an employer or co-employee.
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