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Legal News GavelIn many personal injury actions, expert witness evidence can be an essential part of your case. The difference between getting your experts in and having them excluded may make the difference between success and defeat. This is one of many places in which seasoned New Orleans injury counsel can help you put together a strong and persuasive case by helping you ensure that your expert witness evidence gets in front of your jury.

An example of what is (and is not) required in order to get expert opinion evidence admitted was on display in the case of Blake and Courtney. The pair were a couple who had a termite problem in their home. They retained the services of a pest company to deal with their termite problem. After the company treated the home for termites, the couple and their children allegedly began experiencing headaches, nausea, dizziness, and confusion.

The couple eventually sued the pest company for their injuries. The lower court granted summary judgment to the pest company, but the Supreme Court reversed that decision, which meant that the homeowners’ case was revived, and they could resume pursuing the pest company.

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cardonelawfirmhealthinsurance-300x200Many people who are involved in auto accidents wonder how their health insurance may come into play if they need treatment, or, if they used their health insurance to pay for treatment relating to an auto accident what will happen to their medical bills. This blog entry will also discuss other avenues available under your auto insurance policy to recoup expenses paid toward medical bills relating to an auto accident. This blog entry is written by attorney Hannah Salter at the Cardone Law Firm. The purpose of this blog entry is to explain some of the basics relating to health insurance and auto accidents and the current state of affairs as they stand in Louisiana today.

AUTO INSURANCE – MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGE

Before we start talking about health insurance, I would first like to discuss medical payments coverage in your auto insurance policy. Medical payments coverage in your auto insurance policy pays for medical expenses related to an auto accident even if you were at fault for the accident. In many cases, people are not aware of this important coverage benefit which they have been paying for because auto insurance companies do not bring this benefit to the insured’s attention. However, medical payments coverage is not included in every auto insurance policy. To determine whether you have medical payments coverage, you need to review the declarations page of your auto insurance policy.

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Legal News GavelA recent report of an elevator accident and the lawsuit it triggered is a reminder that elevator accidents can be seriously harmful events for those involved, and they can lead to a wide array of harms suffered by that person (or people). When those injuries are results of an improperly maintained elevator (or some other form of negligence by the owner), those injured may have a case for compensation. If you’ve been hurt in an elevator accident, be sure to contact a skilled New Orleans elevator accident attorney right away to discuss your options.

The recent report, published in the Louisiana Record, detailed the elevator accident of a woman named Nekita. Nekita was riding in a parking facility elevator in Downtown New Orleans when the elevator allegedly malfunctioned. According to the woman’s lawsuit, the elevator car began to shake and to move up and down in an abnormal fashion. During the entire period of malfunctioning, Nekita was trapped in the elevator car and unable to leave, according to her lawsuit.

Incidents like the one this woman allegedly underwent are unfortunately not that uncommon. What people may not immediately realize, though (but Nekita’s case potentially points out), is that an elevator accident can have a wide array of damaging impacts on those directly affected.

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Legal News GavelA news story from late May, as reported by the New Orleans Advocate, described a tragic scene arising from a scenario that occurs all too often. Whether due to sleepiness, distractions, controlled substance use, or defective vehicles, too many truck drivers operate under less-than-ideal driving conditions, leading them to do things like failing to notice obviously slowed or stopped traffic ahead of them and crashing into those stopped or nearly stopped vehicles. Because of the sheer force that commercial trucks moving at 55, 65, or 70 mph have, their crash impacts are often massive. The harm inflicted can be life-altering or life-ending. If you have been injured (or a loved one killed) due to the negligence of a truck driver, you may be entitled to compensation from the driver, his employer, or both. It is important to reach out promptly to a knowledgeable New Orleans truck accident attorney to make sure that the proper steps are taken in a timely manner.

In the crash from May, the eastbound traffic on Interstate 12 was stopped or slowing to a stop near the La. 21 overpass due to congestion. According to the Advocate report, one semi truck (hauling a load of avocados) did not stop, however. The 18-wheeler proceeded ahead at full speed, crashing into the stopped traffic and triggering a chain-reaction accident that involved nine vehicles, in addition to the truck itself. The semi jackknifed and caught fire. Three other vehicles caught fire too.

In the first impact, the commercial truck slammed into a Lexus sedan. Both people inside the Lexus, a mother-and-son pair from Baton Rouge, died at the scene. The semi also went on to hit a Toyota SUV. The driver of the Toyota, a grandmother of six from Mandeville, died at a hospital. The truck driver was the fourth fatality in the crash. The accident also injured several other people.

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Legal News GavelPicture 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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Legal News GavelWhen 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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Legal News GavelAchieving 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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Legal News GavelSometimes, 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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