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mail truckPicture it:  you’re driving along, taking care to comply with the laws and rules of the road when you stop at an intersection. Just a few moments later, a Postal Service letter carrier, who has become distracted, slams into the rear end of your vehicle. Would you know what all of these facts meant for your case and what you needed to do to take your case forward to get the compensation you needed? Make sure your case is handled properly by making sure you have representation from an experienced New Orleans car accident attorney.

The situation described above is not entirely hypothetical. A recently settled case from southeast Louisiana, upon which the Houma Record reported, had nearly identical facts. Evelyn was stopped at an intersection in Thibodaux when she was rear-ended. The driver who hit Evelyn’s vehicle was a man named Charles who was driving a U.S. Postal Service vehicle. According to the lawsuit paperwork that Evelyn filed, Charles looked away from the road in the moments immediately before he approached the intersection, and that period of inattention led to the crash.

There are a few facts in this story that are especially vital in terms of addressing the matter properly. One of these is that the vehicle was a U.S. Postal Service vehicle. This means that, in order to win your case and get compensation, you first must sue the federal government in federal court, following the requirements of the Federal Tort Claims Act. (A “tort” is a legal term for several types of legal wrongs that can be addressed in civil court, such as negligence causing personal injuries.)

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wet surfaceWhen you go to court in a personal injury lawsuit, you want to make sure you’re giving yourself every chance to obtain a successful outcome. Getting to that point may involve employing many different resources, including the use of an expert witness to provide opinion evidence that further strengthens your case. Whether your case needs an expert and, if so, which kind of expert is needed may be profoundly important questions. By retaining an experienced New Orleans premises liability attorney, you can get the knowledgeable answers you need to these and other questions as you navigate the legal process.

One recent premises liability case from the federal Eastern District of Louisiana (Case Number 2:16-cv-00383) provided a useful example of what you do (and don’t need) from an expert witness. The injured plaintiff, Tobie, was headed to a post office in Metairie when her accident happened. She slipped and fell on the sidewalk, suffering substantial injuries as a result. In fact, the fall was so bad it caused her to suffer a herniated disc, a concussion, and a tear in her shoulder that required surgery to address, according to a Louisiana Record report. These injuries led her to file a federal lawsuit to obtain compensation for her harm.

The key thrust of Tobie’s argument was that the walkway was not sufficiently textured, and this failure to provide adequate texturing caused the sidewalk to be slippery and unsafe (as shown by her slip and fall).

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sidewalk cracksAchieving successful results in premises liability cases (like slip-and-fall cases and trip-and-fall cases) requires several things in Louisiana. You have to have proof that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard, and you may have to work to defeat an argument that the hazard was too “open and obvious” to create liability and allow you to recover compensation. In all of these areas, it helps to have a detailed understanding not only of the facts of your situation but of the law as well. This is why it pays to make sure you have legal representation from an experienced injury attorney.

A recent real-world example of a successful Louisiana premises liability lawsuit was the case of Cora, a high school student. Cora allegedly tripped as a result of a flaw in the sidewalk that ran in front of her school. According to the student, the sidewalk shifted beneath her, which caused her to lose her balance and fall. The injury caused the student to experience pain in her right foot, leg, knee, and hip. The student’s parent sued on her behalf.

In premises liability cases like this, many property owners will use as their defense against liability the argument that the hazard that caused the injured person to trip or slip was “open and obvious.” If a hazardous condition is open and obvious, the person using that property is responsible for protecting herself from it, and the property owner cannot be liable for injuries that take place.

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semi-truckSometimes, an auto accident case may involve a driver who was clearly negligent in almost every meaningful way. Perhaps the driver was going 20 mph over the speed limit and ran a red light prior to the accident. In that scenario, establishing negligence might not necessarily be difficult. However, what if an accident occurred after a driver checked his mirrors, used his turn signal, and attempted to make a safe lane change? Even when all of these things are true, that driver may still be negligent, and you may still be entitled to compensation if you were hurt in such an accident. Regardless of the specifics of your auto accident case, make sure that you talk to a skilled Louisiana auto accident attorney promptly to protect your rights and maintain your options.

In some situations, even incidents and court cases that originate outside Louisiana can have very real significance for Louisianans. That was the case for one auto accident lawsuit that started with a San Antonio crash. The case, while starting in Texas, was eventually decided by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose rulings directly affect not only Texas federal courts but federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi as well.

The collision took place along a stretch of Interstate 410 in San Antonio. Elizabeth was driving in the left lane, while Darrell’s truck was in the right lane. At some point, Darrell decided to change lanes. He checked his mirrors. He put on his turn signal. He then began changing lanes and crashed into Elizabeth.

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Cardone-TBI-Report
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report to Congress detailing the impact of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) on children and their families. Identifying gaps in health care coverage for young victims, solutions for management, research to support long-term monitoring, and a wealth of other information within the report all offered a startling but clear examination on the importance of caring for young children who have suffered from a TBI.

At the Cardone Law Firm, we have been protecting families and their loved ones who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury for years. These types of injuries can easily occur in a car accident, sports accident, workplace accident, or any other variety of scenarios resulting from another party’s negligence. We understand how much of an effect it can have on a victim’s health, thinking, and behavior, and it is important that families obtain the compensation they deserve to help with the recovery process.

We’d like to share with you some of the stand out topics of the report to remind families of the importance of seeking medical and legal guidance when a family member has suffered a brain injury.

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National-Bike-MonthRiding a bike is an activity enjoyed by many people for a number of reasons. Some people like to ride their bikes for fun or to exercise, and a growing number of people are cycling to commute to and from work, among other places.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there was a 64% increase in people riding their bikes to work from 2000 to 2014.

While a diverse range of people enjoy riding their bikes, there are serious safety concerns for cyclists. The NHTSA reported that in 2015 there were 818 deaths due to bicycle accidents and an additional 45,000 cyclists were injured in pedalcyclist crashes involving motor vehicles.

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Cardonelawfirmairbagautoaccidentneworleans-300x200When we think of the main safety devices installed in vehicles which are designed for driver and passenger protection, the first thing which comes to many peoples’ minds is the airbag. Airbags are primarily used as a safety device for drivers and passengers. When a crash or any sort of notable impact occurs, there are certain sensors within vehicles which register these events. These sensors correspond directly with airbags installed in the vehicle which are contained in the airbag electronic controller unit, also known as the “ECU.”

Any new car you buy is required to be equipped with airbags according to federal regulations. But, airbags haven’t been around all that long. Airbags were first introduced in the 1970s with limited success and broad based commercial use of airbags didn’t start in the market until the late 1980s and early 1990s. Therefore, relatively speaking, airbags are somewhat modern technology.

TYPES OF AIRBAGS 

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Truck-Accident-without-Seat-Belt
Wearing your seat belt is required by law and has been since 1968 when the Motor Vehicle Safety Standard was passed, enforcing all car manufacturers to build seat belts into their vehicles. That being said, driving without one on is reckless and can lead to serious injuries.

At the Cardone Law Firm, it is not our aim to point the finger at anyone’s mistakes. Instead, we aim to share over 40 years of knowledge with you about car or truck accidents. Even if you weren’t wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, that does not mean that you completely forfeit your right to compensation.

If you or a loved one have been involved in a crash and weren’t wearing your seat belt, read the following to consider what you can do to reap the compensation you deserve.

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Cardone-TBITraumatic brain injuries (TBIs) happen in many different ways and, often times, are preventable. This is especially true of TBIs in the workplace. With falls accounting for 47 percent of all TBI-related injuries, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States, a workplace injury can easily lead to serious head trauma.

With nearly three million nonfatal injuries occurring in 2016, a head injury can leave an individual with life-long issues and permanently out of a job. When facing the challenges of a traumatic brain injury, victims and their families can deal with an unbearable amount of pain and financial stress.

But you don’t have to face the darkness alone.

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The title of this blog is misleading because I don’t believe people can get more money for their auto accident without hiring an attorney. I am a prime example of this. When I just started my legal career (less than 6 months after being licensed), I was working at an insurance defense firm and I was involved in an auto accident that was not my fault. I only had minor soft tissue injuries. Being a young attorney, I was advised not to file a lawsuit since I only had minimal injuries, and if I did file a lawsuit, I was advised it may look bad since I would be suing insurance clients our law firm did business with at the time. I opted to not file a lawsuit, or hire a private attorney and I tried to handle my own claim individually and under the radar in the claims process, since after all – I was an attorney!

I’ve learned a lot since that time and I am going to share with you my true and real experiences and my unbiased advice.

  • RULE 1: It’s really about luck of the draw with adjusters.
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