Articles Posted in Car Accidents

There can be many different elements that go into achieving the legal outcome you need in your auto accident injury case. For some injured people, one of those elements is being allowed to pursue not only the other driver, but that driver’s employer. This option can be very important because many drivers may be individuals with limited assets and an auto insurance policy with a low policy limit. It is entirely possible that the harm you suffered exceeds the driver’s assets and the insurance policy’s limit. However, when your case also names an employer like a major national corporation, you have an improved chance of obtaining the full amount of damages that you proved. A knowledgeable New Orleans injury attorney can help you to provide the court with the proof and argument you need to establish this essential “vicarious liability.”

K.T. was a driver who found herself in this type of situation. She was driving in Lafayette when her vehicle was hit by another vehicle (the latter driven by V.B.). V.B. was headed home at the time of the accident, and she also received a citation for “failure to yield” as a result of the incident.

At this point, you might think that K.T. has a strong case against V.B., but that the only compensation K.T. could obtain would be from V.B. (and her insurer). K.T.’s case is an example of how in-depth legal knowledge can take you (and your case) further. A skilled advocate knows to “dig deeper” and the additional information unearthed may produce an even stronger case. In this accident, V.B. was only her way home from a training course that her supervisor recommended to her. That information led K.T.’s counsel to sue, not only V.B. but also V.B.’s employer (a major nationwide chain of pharmacies).

Picture 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.)