Articles Posted in Civil Matter

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Most parents probably get a little nervous when their teens take to the road, and for good reason. Teenage drivers are often very dangerous behind the wheel. In addition to their inexperience, teen drivers are more likely to succumb to the supposed “thrill” of risky behaviors like drunk driving, driving at night, distracted driving due to cell phones or usage of MP3 players, etc.

Statistics confirm parental apprehension. According to one insurance provider, each year:

More than 400,000 teens between 16 and 20 are severely injured in car accidents, and more than 5,000 lose their lives. Despite the very small percentage (10%) of the population that teenagers account for, teenage car crashes actually account for 12 percent of fatal car accidents.

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In 2005, Dale Spires of DeRidder was in a car accident that was caused by April Roberts. He sued Ms. Roberts and her insurance company paid out $10,000, which was the limit under her insurance policy. The suit was dismissed in 2006.

In 2007, Spires filed an additional lawsuit against his uninsured motorist carrier, State Farm, and alleged that Ms. Roberts was underinsured and as such he was entitled to additional recovery for the damages he sustained in the accident as well as for his emotional distress. State Farm argued that under Louisiana law, Spires had to assert all causes of action in the first suit against Ms. Roberts and was precluded from collection additional damages from state farm since the action arises from the same accident. As such, Stare Farm argued, because Spires did not bring the claim against State Farm when he sued Ms. Roberts he could no longer do so. The trial court agreed and dismissed the claim, leading to the Spires appeal.

In a 2008 decision, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court judgment and found that the Spires were entitled to pursue a claim against State Farm for additional damages. The case hinged on the court’s interpretation of La.Code Civ.p. art 425 which states, “A party shall assert all causes of action arising out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the litigation.” According to the Court, art. 425 is merely a reference to the broader principle of res judicata.

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The cruise ship Celebrity Mercury was forced to its home port of Charleston for a four day cleaning recently. After the third straight outbreak of Norovirus on the 1870 passenger ship, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a rare “no sail” recommendation. The return home came after Celebrity took some action to stem the outbreak to no avail.

As noted in an article in USA Today,

The repeated outbreaks came despite an aggressive effort by the line to stop the chain of transmission of the illness. Celebrity conducted an unusual top-to-bottom cleaning of the Mercury Feb. 26-27 that delayed the ship’s Feb. 26 departure by a day. The line also delayed the March 8 departure of the ship by several hours so it could undergo another round of extra cleaning and disinfecting

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Reports of drivers arrested for DWI, or “driving while intoxicated,” should serve as a reminder of the substantial duty imposed by the law on drivers to operate their vehicles in a safe manner. Motor vehicle operators owe a duty of care to all other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians to take reasonable care to avoid harm or injury. Some common breaches of this duty include driving too fast for conditions, failing to keep a proper lookout for other traffic, failing to observe traffic signals or markings, and driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Two recent reports from Houma Today involve drivers who operated their vehicles while “under the influence” in Terrebonne Parish. The first involved Jeffrey Trahan of Gibson, Louisiana, who on March 22 received a five-year prison sentence for his role in a deadly car crash one year prior. According to police, on March 22, 2009, Trahan drove his 1996 Honda Accord on North Bayou Black Drive in Houma where he ran off the road into a ditch. Trahan’s car flipped over, ejecting both Trahan and Donald McInnis, his passenger. McInnis, 17, who was also from Gibson, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. According to prosecutor Juan Pickett, Trahan tested positive for marijuana and Xanax, a prescription anti-anxiety medication that can adversely affect driving. Trahan pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and will be required to serve at least three years in jail without parole.

In the second report, James McDowell III of Baton Rouge was arrested in Thibodaux on March 24 for a fifth-offense DWI. At approximately 1:30 AM, a Louisiana state trooper observed McDowell swerving across lanes on La. Hwy. 308 near Bubba’s II Seafood Restaurant. The trooper charged McDowell with improper lane use, driving with a suspended license, and having an open container of alcohol in his car. McDowell had a blood-alcohol content of .052. While the state legal limit is .08, the trooper arrested McDowell because he had reason to believe that McDowell might have been under the influence of another substance. McDowell was taken to the Lafourche Parish jail.

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On December 15, 1955, James Edwin Watson, then 20 years old, was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle southbound on the two-lane State Highway 17 in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana. He was being followed at some distance by his friend, Douglas Simpson, in a Ford automobile. Both Watson and Simpson intended to make a left turn onto Airport Road on their way to Watson’s house. As they approached the intersection, a vehicle driven by Stanley D. McEacharn, Jr. overtook Simpson’s car on the left. Then, as McEacharn began to overtake Watson’s motorcycle, Watson, unaware of the presence of McEacharn’s car approaching in the left lane, proceeded at an angle into the left lane to make his left turn onto Airport Road. McEacharn’s car struck Watson’s Harley, sending the motorcycle further down the highway before it came to rest in the ditch on the side of the road. Watson’s body was found on the shoulder of the road, approximately half-way between where McEacharn’s car stopped and the motorcycle came to rest.

At trial, Simpson testified that as McEacharn’s car overtook his own, Watson’s Harley was out in front about 450 feet and was traveling, at an angle toward Airport Road, at about five MPH. Simpson said Watson gave a signal of his intention to make a left turn. McEacharn denied seeing any signal from Watson but admitted as he passed Simpson’s car he saw a glimpse of a man on a motorcycle. Both McEacharn and Simpson testified that they did not observe Watson make any turn of the head to the rear to check for traffic overtaking him.

The trial court concluded from the evidence that McEacharn had the last clear chance to avoid the accident but failed to avoid it because of “excessive speed, failure to keep a proper lookout ahead to discover the presence of those who may be in danger, failure to sound his horn, and failure to apply his brakes in time.” Watson v. McEacharn, 99 So. 2d 138, 139 (La. Ct. App. 2nd Cir. 1957). The court concluded that McEacharn’s negligence constituted the “proximate and immediate cause” of the accident, with Watson’s negligence in placing himself in a position of danger only a “remote” cause. Accordingly, the court entered judgment for Watson.

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On November 25, 1984, a natural gas pipeline running through a field in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana exploded, causing the loss of lives and substantial property damage. The pipeline was owned by the Texas Eastern Company, but the land over which the pipeline ran was owned by Mary Lou Trawick Winters. Nearly thirty years prior to the incident, Mrs. Winters had agreed to provide Texas Eastern an easement to “construct, lay, maintain, operate, alter, repair, remove, change the size of, and replace pipe lines” on the property. Dupree v. Texas Eastern Corp., 639 F. Supp. 463, 464 (M.D. La. 1986).

Relatives of the parties injured in the blast filed suit and named Ms. Winters as a defendant because of her ownership of the land over which Texas Eastern’s pipeline was run. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana first examined the state laws related to the granting of easements, and noted that “there are literally thousands of miles of underground natural gas … pipelines in Louisiana. It is a rare southwest Louisiana rice field that does not have at least one pipeline crossing it–many have multiple pipelines.” The court also observed that under federal law, natural gas pipeline companies are permitted to expropriate property needed for running the lines. In other words, landowners can be required to grant easements on their property for the installation of pipelines so long as the gas company compensates them based on the fair market value of the easements.

Although the court noted that pipeline easements are typically established by “voluntary” agreements between the pipeline companies and the landowners, it concluded that as a practical matter landowners are in no position to decline the request to grant an easement when “asked.” Revealing clear sympathy the position of such landowners, the court concluded, “the chances of the courts of Louisiana holding a landowner liable for activities of the [gas company] over which the landowner had no control, are akin to those of the proverbial snowball in the warm place.”

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Greek Seaman Dimitrios Keramidas’s ship was docked in East Charles Parish in 1999 when he became sick. He was hospitalized and treated for sepsis at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie for two months before he was sent back to Greece with medical approval. Keramidas never recovered and passed away in May 1999. His surviving widow and son brought suit under the Jones Act against Shipping and Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited. The defendant was granted a summary judgment motion because the trial court found that “under the forum selection clause of the seaman’s employment agreement, the country of Cyprus, not the United States, is the proper forum to bring the suit.” The 5th Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeals reviewed and affirmed the trial court’s decision.

Forum Selection Clauses

Even though states usually can enforce their own procedural rules and forum selection clauses are basically procedural, in admiralty cases, they are controlled by federal law.

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According to reports from the Associated Press and Louisiana’s WWLTV, at least four people were killed in a tragic accident near Grosse Tete last Friday (April 9, 2010). The accident was so bad that a portion of 1-10 westbound was closed and traffic was diverted at the La. Highway 415 to U.S. Highway 190.

As reported by state troopers, an eastbound 18-wheeler sideswiped another 18-wheeler stopped on the shoulder. The first truck lost control, crossed the median, and collided head on with yet a third 18-wheeler. The second collision caused a fire. After the fire was put out, a car was found in the wreckage. The crash is still under investigation and no names of those involved have been released. However, a 15 year old girl reportedly survived without serious injuries.

After a tragedy like this one, family members of those killed will surely be asking themselves who was to blame for the accident and who will be responsible for damages. Survivors can sue whomever is at fault in a wrongful death lawsuit and may be able to collect a variety of damages, including medical and funeral expenses or compensation for pain and suffering. However, with an accident involving an 18-wheeler or other large commercial truck (or many, as in this case), the legal issues are a bit unique. The differences mainly stem from the fact that in a traditional vehicle accident where another driver was at fault, he and his insurance company will typically be held fully responsible for damages if the driver is proven to have acted negligently.

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As reported on our sister blog, Dow Chemical has experienced another chemical leak in Southeast Louisiana. This time involving the very dangerous titanium tetrachloride. The incident has led to the evacuation of two schools and various roads while local emergency experts assess the situation.

WWL reports Scott Whelchel, emergency operation director for St. Charles Parish, as stating the situation is under control and actions being taken are out of concern and precaution.

He says out of an abundance of caution they are evacuating some homes just north of the Shell Norco facility east of Spruce Street and south of 5th Street. He says the winds are now blowing any chemical cloud over the spillway and away from homes.

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A 2004 Louisiana Supreme Court case provides a good explanation of the difference between Medical Malpractice and ordinary negligence. Not every negligent act of a qualified health care provider falls within the Medical Malpractice Act (MMA), La.Rev.Stat. 40:1299.41(1).

In Williams v. Hospital Service of Jefferson, the plaintiff was injured as she was pushed in a wheelchair by an employee of West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, Louisiana. A wheel on the chair came off, she fell, and she was injured. She sued the hospital for negligent failure to repair the wheelchair and failure to insure that the wheelchair was in proper working condition. The sole issue the Supreme Court considered was whether the alleged negligence fell under the MMA. The Supreme Court of Louisiana determined it did not and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.

The Louisiana State Legislature enacted the MMA in 1975. One reason for the law was to provide health care providers with some advantages in actions against them for malpractice by limiting the damages that can be collected and requiring that each claim first be reviewed by a medical panel. The MMA only applies to claims “arising from medical malpractice” under La.Rev.Stat. 40:1299.41(1). Negligent behavior of health care providers that does not fit in the medical malpractice definition are governed by traditional tort principles. Courts have construed the coverage of the MMA strictly.

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