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Home damage and personal injuriesIn the last weeks of March, rainstorms and flooding led to extensive damage for many homeowners. Currently, the estimate is over 75 houses in the surrounding areas of Baton Rouge were damaged.Volunteers for Red Cross and Salvation Army were on the scene to assist needy residents.

Not all homes are accounted for that may have suffered rain damage, and it is important to know what may and may not be recoverable from home insurance in the case of home damage as a result of rainy weather. Generally, homeowner insurance does not cover flooding damages but water damage that was due to a storm, or was permitted to get into your home because of damage made by the storms winds, may be covered. Water damage that was the result of possibly negligent upkeep, such as leaky pipes, would not likely be covered. It is a homeowner’s responsibility to limit and mitigate damages in the event of a storm. Two major steps are the safe removal of water to prevent mold and the attentive repairing of holes and broken windows caused by the storm.

In the insurance process, you will want a qualified attorney to assist in the report of your potential claims to ensure prompt and accurate insurance payout and limit potential personal negligent liability for your damages.

Rain storm damage does not cease at property damage bur rather many personal injury cases are founded on slip and falls or other injuries from rain created hazards. This month a Louisiana woman filed suit against a grocery store for an injury sustained from a slippery floor wet from the rain.

Automobile damage
Slippery roads and hazardous driving conditions leave many people with auto damage from a number of sources. Falling tree branches, flooding, and weather related accidents can often lead to thousands of dollars in repairs if you can properly file suit against responsible parties and secure your deserved insurance settlement. Furthermore, personal injuries can amount to additional short term and long term costs. In severe cases, wrongful death suits may need to be brought on behalf of someone involved in one of these accidents. Tragically, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that approximately 11% of traffic fatalities stem from accidents involving hazardous weather. Contact a qualified attorney to assist you in getting what’s rightfully yours and defending you from wrongful liability.

Quick What-to-do
Most Louisianans rely on their vehicle to get to work and home, rain or shine. However, should you be unable to operate your vehicle in hazardous weather conditions it is vital to limit your risk to others and yourself. Remain in your vehicle and stay calm. Keep one window cracked for air circulation and ensure the vehicle is off or, if on, the exhaust pipe is clear of obstruction. Carefully attach a bright visible signal, such as a plastic bag or cloth, to your vehicle to alert other drivers in reduced visibility.

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As of 2010, current law in Louisiana requires drivers to maintain insurance coverage for Bodily Injury Liability. The minimum amount is $15,000 per injured party, $30,000 per accident (more than one person injured in the accident), and $25,000 for property damage. These minimums may be referred to as “full coverage” even though they are clearly not always capable of covering even minor medical bills. When a party does maintain minimum coverage they may be considered underinsured depending upon the extent of injuries suffered by the victims of his negligence or may be even uninsured entirely.

It is estimated that the rate of uninsured motorists on Louisiana roads is approximately 13%. This number is slightly under the national average of 13.8% but still presents a major threat to uninsured and insured drivers alike.

Many businesses, including yours, may be entitled to compensation from your losses since the BP Oil Spill.

In April 2010, the oil rig ‘Deepwater Horizon’ owned by BP suffered an explosion and subsequently sank, claiming the lives of 11 workers. For the following three months, nearly 5 million barrels of oil gushed from the sea floor. The event is often considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Since the spill, the Gulf coastline has suffered ecologically and economically from Florida to Texas, Louisiana suffering particularly due to its coastal exposure and extensive tourist industry.

In 2009, the story of the R.I. lawsuit began in his own home when he, engaging in sexual relations, injured his penis. That morning R.I. contacted the nearest emergency room, in Bogalusa, and was advised to go to the St. Tammany Parish Hospital (STPH) immediately. Upon arrival at the hospital, his penile fracture was soon correctly diagnosed by Dr. Susan Craig of STPH.

Penis fractures are the result of a trauma that ruptures or tears the lining of one of the two fabric cylinders within the penis. These cylinders are known as corpus cavernosum and fill with blood during an erection thereby causing the hardening effect. When these are damaged, the person will experience severe pain, bruising, blood in urine, and a partial or complete inability to become erect. Without treatment a penis may become deformed and lead to permanent erectile dysfunction.

The BP rig explosion caused the worst environmental disaster in U, S. history. While the Gulf of Mexico may be back according to most environmentalists, there are thousands of businesses along the Gulf Coast that have not been compensated for their losses.

Now, because of the settlement confected by and between all of the parties to the litigation that has ensued, there is a fund of money set aside to pay for economic business losses and you DON’T even have to prove that the spill caused those losses!! If you can show a drop in gross revenues in 2010 compared to 2011, you may be eligible for money compensation.

According to the National Center of Health Statistics there are over 1.5 million people in nursing homes in the United States. The estimate of understaffed nursing homes is approximately 90% according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There are over 20,000 complaints of abuse, gross neglect and exploitation.

In September 2011, a man was admitted to a local nursing home and was experiencing medical conditions that were potentially life threatening. The nursing home held itself out as a properly staffed, skilled, qualified nursing home and a Medicare/Medicaid Provider.

On December 16, 2007 the Arizona Cardinals were visiting the New Orleans Superdome to battle the New Orleans Saints for a spot in the playoffs. The game was an exciting display of offensive power and ultimately the Saints tied the Cardinals by the half and kept the lead for the win.

After the game, as the crowds dispersed, a group of eight individuals seated in Section 619 boarded an elevator to leave.

There are more than 6 million motorcycles registered in the United States and when you include potential passengers, it hard to ascertain the exact amount of riders traveling in our midst everyday. More motorcycle riders, however, equals more motorcycle accidents and 80% of those crashes injure or kill the rider.

Jefferson Parish, was, in fact, named in honor of Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. A bronze statue of Jefferson stands at the entrance of the General Government Building in Gretna where all the courtrooms for the 24th Judicial District Court are located, as well as the Justice of the Peace courtroom for the Parish’s 1st District. This tribute stems from Jefferson’s substantial involvement in the purchase of Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 and his push for the passage of the Congressional Act for the Admission of Louisiana’s as a State in the Union. Act of Congress April 8, 1812, c. 50, 2 U.S. Stat. 701.

Interestingly, there was opposition to the passage of the Act and the admission of the Louisiana Territory by Josiah Quincy, a congressman from Boston. Quincy argued that the United States Constitution ‘did not permit the admission of a state on the other side of the Mississippi, a state peopled by a foreign nation, speaking a foreign tongue, and following strange laws and customs;’ as:

If Driver A tries to pass Driver B while B is making a left turn and a collision results, who is at-fault for the accident? At an intersection with a green light, when Driver B is turning left and collides with oncoming Driver A, who is traveling straight, who is at-fault for that accident? Under Louisiana Law it is Driver B, the left-turning driver, who is presumed to be at fault for both. However, the left-turning driver does have the opportunity to overcome this presumption of fault.

A left-turning driver may only be free from fault when he executed his turn after first ascertaining that the turn can be executed safely and without danger to the normal overtaking or oncoming traffic. Thus, the left-turning driver must always yield to the right-of-way of other vehicles. Accordingly, the left-turning vehicle must properly and timely signal that he is turning left and also check traffic behind him and traffic that is oncoming. Only then can he assert that he is free from fault if there is a collision between him and the passing vehicle. Ponthieu v. Dubroc, 108 So.2d 25 (La. Ct. App. 1958)

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