Articles Posted in Auto insurance

motorcycle_accident-300x200Sometimes, “bad facts” in your accident case may seem to be highly unfavorable. Perhaps the police determined that you were speeding to a substantial degree and that you were not properly attentive to the conditions on the road. In that situation, you are clearly at fault for the accident and cannot recover compensation for the harm you suffered, right? Not necessarily! There may still be options available to you. Before simply giving up on your case, always consult a knowledgeable New Orleans motorcycle accident attorney about your case to learn which options may exist for you.

In New Orleans, you don’t need an excuse to parade or party. Mardi Gras in particular is one of the biggest holidays in New Orleans generating an estimated $840 million dollars each year. While a vacation is supposed to be a time filled with fun, laughs and excitement – when you add the mass amounts of tourists in with the locals, copious amounts of alcohol and partying, you are bound to have a few accidents.

If you are vacationing in the Big Easy and are injured due to someone else’s carelessness, it’s crucial to know what steps to take next.

drive_permission-300x200If you found yourself involved in an auto accident where you’ve been rear-ended and suffered injuries, what would you do? Would you know the best way to go about pursuing your legal options and getting the fullest and fairest amount of compensation possible? Certainly, you might know that you have the option to pursue a case against the driver who rear-ended you and her auto insurer for damages. However, would you know that your options may not end there?

If the totality of your damages goes beyond the policy limit of the auto insurance policy that the rear-ending driver has with her insurer, you can take an additional step, which is to seek payment under a different insurance policy’s underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage — the coverage on the vehicle you were driving. As is the case in a lot of auto accident lawsuits that involve possible insurance coverage, the insurance company may be aggressive in seeking out avenues that will allow it to avoid paying. That’s one reason why, if you’ve been rear-ended and hurt, you need to be sure you have an experienced Louisiana injury attorney on your side every step of the way.

verdict-300x200In civil litigation, there are several processes that go on at the same time. One is the conducting of the adversarial process in accordance with the rules of court that exist in Louisiana. Civil litigation, of course, is not just a mere game; it is more than just a series of rules and a contest that determines a winner and a loser. It is also the pursuit of justice. To achieve that end, the law allows you certain latitude in the conduct of your case. Put another way, Louisiana law is clear that hyper-technical compliance with rules should never trump fundamental fairness and should not prevent a deserving person from obtaining justice through a civil judgment. To ensure you get the justice you deserve in the Louisiana courts, make sure you have a knowledgeable New Orleans injury attorney on your side.

To understand this importance of prioritizing justice over hyper-technical compliance, there’s the case of B.T. and G.B. from Monroe. The injury that spawned this lawsuit arose from an intersection collision. D.T. ran through a stop sign and hit the vehicle driven by B.T. The impact hurt both B.T. and her passenger, G.B. B.T. and G.B. sued D.T. and his insurer. In their lawsuit, the pair alleged that D.T., by failing to yield at the stop sign, was 100% to blame for the accident and for their injuries. While the lawsuit named both D.T. and the insurer as defendants, only the insurer was served initially.

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Auto accidents that cause injuries happen every day around Louisiana. With many of kinds of injury accidents, and auto accident lawsuits, there’s a common thread to them: insurance. In many accidents, getting a full and fair recovery (or, at least, a fuller and fairer recovery than you often could obtain from the defendant driver him/herself) is predicated on your ability to hold an insurance company legally responsible for paying. Insurers, of course, often seek to avoid paying claims in certain circumstances. To that end, insurers will often fight aggressively to avoid assuming responsibility for an accident and paying claims based upon it. That is one reason, among numerous others, why you need diligent and determined Louisiana injury counsel, who can fight effectively for you to get the payment you deserve.

Here’s an example from a case decision recently announced by the appeals court: B.M. and C.W. were involved in an auto accident on Feb. 27, 2016. The other driver, who was behind the wheel of a Lincoln Town Car, was at fault in the accident and the accident caused B.M. and C.W. to suffer damages, so they sued.

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I’ve been injured in an auto accident by a delivery driver driving a car belonging to another person. What is the best way to proceed with my case?

In modern slang or metaphorical language, the phrase “lots of moving parts” or “a lot of moving parts” is considered to be an alternate way of saying that something is complex or has numerous working pieces to manage. Many times, your Louisiana auto accident case can be something that has lots of moving parts. There is the identification of the proper defendants, including possibly the driver, the driver’s employer, the vehicle’s owner and one or more insurance companies. There’s the pre-trial discovery process and the collection of evidence. There’s decision-making like whether to settle or to take the case to a jury verdict. These, of course, are just to name a few.

passing_a_truck-2-300x200If you’re a tractor-trailer truck driver, and you’re involved in a serious accident caused by another driver, such as one that causes your rig to overturn, your legal case can many different aspects. Certainly, the driver of the car who lost control and hit your rig is potentially liable, so you may be able to sue the driver and his insurer for the driver’s negligence.

That may not be enough. In Louisiana, the state minimum coverage requirements for auto insurance are quite low. For example, a driver is only required to have coverage that provides “payments of $15,000 for bodily injury to one person.” That means that obtaining a full recovery main entail taking on multiple insurance companies, including the other driver’s insurer, as well as separate underinsured/uninsured motorist (UIM) coverage insurers. To be sure you’re getting everything you deserve out of your case, be sure you have an experienced Louisiana injury attorney on your side.

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You’ve probably heard the phrase “trial strategy.” Trial strategy involves making certain legal or procedural decisions in order to take maximum advantage of the facts or the law surrounding your case. But how much does trial strategy really matter – aren’t most all trials generally the same? The answer is a resounding “no.” Each trial has its own unique twists and turns. Even if most were similar, would you want to gamble the compensation you need on your case not being one of the unusual ones? Protect yourself by making sure you have a knowledgeable Louisiana injury attorney on your side to protect your rights no matter how ordinary or extraordinary your case is.

R.N. and T.H. were two people who were also personal injury plaintiffs in a case that demonstrates how important trial strategy can be. R.N. and T.H. were injured in a two-vehicle auto accident.

insurancecompanyinsurancecarrier-300x211One of the most frequent questions I get asked is: Which insurance company should I go through to handle my property damage after an accident? My own company or the insurance company for the person who hit me?

I’m a Louisiana auto injury attorney here to explain.

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Photo Credit: Suphaksorn Thongwongboot / Shutterstock.com

Each instance where someone suffers injuries as a result of an auto accident is unique, but there is one thing that is common in many if not most such accidents, and that is the need to interact with one or more insurance companies in order to get compensation for your injuries. Insurance companies, of course, do not desire to pay out any more in claims that they absolutely must, so getting the payment you deserve may involve several steps, including going to court. Whether your pursuit of payment from an auto insurance company requires going all the way to trial or not, getting the payment you deserve from an insurer is often enhanced by having representation from a knowledgeable and diligent New Orleans auto accident attorney.

Sometimes, a case may even involve multiple insurance companies. J.H. was a truck driver for a Lafayette-based transportation and logistics company and was hurt in a 2013 on-the-job auto accident. When you are injured in an auto accident that took place while you were on the clock, your case potentially can be somewhat complex, because it may involve multiple people and entities. Very likely, you will sue the other driver in the accident and perhaps that driver’s auto insurance company. (If that driver was working at the time of the accident, then the legal action may also include that driver’s employer and the employer’s insurance company.) You may additionally need to name your own insurance company in order to obtain payment under your policy’s underinsured/uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage, and the insurance company of your employer in order to pursue payment under that policy’s UM coverage, as well.

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