Civil Matter

August 31, 2012

Damages a Complicated Concern in Louisiana Asbestos Case

Damages are awarded in successful civil instances in order to put the injured party back into a position that they would have been in had the events in the case unfolded as planned or if the transaction had not taken place at all. For example, in a contracts case, if one party ordered and paid for widgets, and does not receive those widgets, then he should be able to get his money back or the court could force the other party to provide the widgets as promised. Sometimes, however, the position that you were in before the deal is not easy to quantify into a dollar amount. In cases where the injury is either physical or emotional, damages are very difficult to estimate.

In cases where the injury is either physical, emotional, or both, the court uses a variety of methods to attempt to determine the appropriate amount of damages. For example, if someone has been harmed physically and needs to go to the hospital, then part of the compensation will often include money to cover the hospital bills. If an individual has been troubled emotionally and needs to see a therapist, then the bills for that service will often be considered to figure damages. In addition, the court will often look at past cases to determine what type of monetary award that juries have given to the victim under similar circumstances. If the award that the jury gives is significantly smaller or larger than past awards then the court may intervene to adjust the damages granted.

A 2011 Delaware Supreme Court case illustrates this concept very well. In this case, a son and mother were exposed to asbestos while operating a car repair business for over forty years in Louisiana. They died after contracting mesothelioma; the mother died two years prior to her son’s death. Several issues came up in this case regarding the payment of damages. The lower court declared that two businesses were partially liable for the death of these individuals. Therefore, those businesses were ordered to pay $500,000 to the four remaining family members for the loss of their mother, $0 to the son for the loss of his mother, $80,000 to the mother’s estate for pain and suffering, and $1.6 million to the son’s estate for his pain and suffering. All of these funds were given to the four remaining family members.

August 29, 2012

Court Examines Misunderstanding that Allowed for Unemployment Benefits

by Berniard Law Firm

Unemployment benefits are granted in Louisiana with the assumption that the employee did not perform any misconduct within the course of employment. Misconduct is defined as either an intentional offense or an accidental offense that the employee should have been able to avoid if they had paid more attention or been more careful. Misconduct could also include an intentional and substantial disregard for the interests of the employer. For example, making extremely risky investments that are very likely to loose money would be considered disregard for the interests of the employer. If any of these types of misconduct are found, then the employee is disqualified from being able to receive unemployment.

Recently, the Forty-Second Judicial District Court for the Parish of DeSoto, Louisiana gave a good example of what the court would classify as misconduct. The District Court found for the employee in this case, so the employer appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit in Louisiana.

The employee in this case was hired to be an assistant to the bookkeeper in an oil company. Her title was “office administrator.” Among other duties, she double checked the payroll figures for the bookkeeper and provided an orientation program for new hires. She had been working for the company for seven months when she requested an unpaid vacation.

August 27, 2012

Court Determines Louisiana Man’s $1.3 Million Award for Injury is Not Excessive

by Berniard Law Firm

In October of 2009 a man was injured on a tugboat near Amelia, Louisiana, while attempting to do his duty as a deckhand. Two major issues came up in this case when it went to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. First, the deckhand had to prove that he did not cause or partially cause his own injury. Second, he also had to demonstrate that the damages he was awarded at the District Court level were not excessive. Both of these factors were proven and the injured man was awarded approximately $1.3 million in damages.

The deckhand in this case was on a small tugboat and attempted to transfer a big barge that they were hauling to another larger tugboat. The small tugboat crew made the transfer in the very early morning hours and while the sea was quite rough. The deckhand was injured when his tugboat dipped in a wave; a wire came untied, and struck him. He was thrown against a wall, which knocked him unconscious. As a result, he had fractures in two of his vertebrae and wore a back brace for a month before a serious surgery that fused his vertebrae together. He also has serious pain issues that will have to be controlled with a pain pump, which gives pain medication directly to the spinal cord, or the continued use of oral pain medication. His pain issues will likely continue for the rest of his life.

In order to collect damages, the deckhand needed to prove that his injury was not also partially his own fault because he was being careless. In legal terms, this is known as contributory negligence. This was a major issue because at the time that the deckhand was injured, he was in what was called a “pressure zone.” The pressure zone basically assumes that the portion of the deck in which he was standing was more dangerous at the time of the transfer than the other portions of the deck. This is because a wire that the boats used to transfer was tight at that portion of the deck, so if it came loose then the deckhands would lose control of it. The court determined that he did not contribute to his injury in this case because he was following the orders of his captain when he was injured. Previous case law has stated that individuals following orders cannot have contributory negligence because their superiors put them in that situation.

August 20, 2012

Medical Malpractice Claim Arises from Failure to Follow DNR

by Berniard Law Firm

A do-not-resuscitate order (“DNR”) is a formalized direction to medical personnel that they are forbidden from performing life-saving efforts on an individual who is in need of care. In Jones v. Ruston Louisiana Hospital Company, the decedent filed a DNR, which was kept on record, with the Northern Louisiana Medical Center (“NLMC”) in Ruston, Louisiana. In July of 2009, the decedent was admitted to the NLMC for medical treatment; and six days later, despite the very clear instructions of the DNR, NLMC employees resuscitated him when he went into cardiac arrest. Thereafter, the decedent suffered unnecessary and extensive physical disabilities, requiring rehabilitative treatment for two months until his death.

The decedent’s family members (the “Plaintiffs”) posthumously brought suit against NLMC for the following four claims: (1) reimbursement for medical expenses in connection with his rehabilitation care; (2) physical and mental pain and suffering; (3) loss of enjoyment of life and cognitive decline; and (4) bystander recovery. However, the NLMC fired back with a procedural defect argument that the Plaintiffs skipped a crucial step in bringing the lawsuit. An “exception of prematurity” was filed based on the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act (“LMMA”), which requires that a case be brought before a medical review panel prior to claims being filed in court when the defendant is a qualified healthcare provider. This exception applies when the underlying alleged conduct of the defendant exists under the LMMA umbrella. Specifically, and most importantly in this case, the claim must be for medical malpractice claim and not general tort liability.

The issue at hand was whether the Plaintiffs’ claims were based on medical malpractice or general tort law. In order to resolve this issue, the court relied on Coleman v. Deno (2002), which established the following six factors: (1) whether the wrong is “treatment related” or caused by failure to exercise professional judgement; (2) whether the wrong requires expert medical evidence to determine whether a standard of care was breached; (3) whether the patient’s condition was assessed; (4) whether an incident occurred in the context of a physician-patient relationship, or was within the scope of activities that a hospital is licensed to perform; (5) whether the treatment caused the injury or would have happened without medical care; and (6) whether it was an intentional tort.

August 15, 2012

Injury Due to Workplace Discrimination Handled in Court of Appeals

by Berniard Law Firm

Discrimination in the workplace is unfortunately all too common. But, how do you determine if you might be able to file a claim for workplace discrimination that resulted in a loss of job? Although this is a challenging subject that should be decided for each individual situation, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (which includes Louisiana) has come up with a general outline for discrimination cases. This outline might be helpful to determine whether you should bring a case if you feel your workplace has discriminated against you.

It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee because of the employee’s race. If race was a “contributing factor” in the loss of employment then it is illegal, even if there are other, lawful reasons for the termination of employment. There are three major steps to determine whether or not you might have a case for workplace discrimination.

First, the court will decide if the person who was allegedly discriminated against has a “prime facie” case for discrimination. That is, whether the case looks like discrimination on the surface without diving too deep into the facts. The court will base this decision on four qualifications. First, the person allegedly discriminated against must be a member of a protected class. A protected class has been defined by law as race or color, nationality, sex, or religion. However, an individual can be considered a protected class in relation to the particular situation in the workplace. Therefore, an individual can be a protected class even if that individual is not considered a minority in comparison to the general population. Second, he or she must be qualified for the position that they held. Third, he or she must have actually been terminated from employment. Lastly, he or she must have been replaced by someone from outside the protected class in which the person who allegedly discriminated against belongs. Assuming all of these qualifications are met, you can move on to step two.

August 13, 2012

Wrongful Death Claim Based on Fatal Crane Accident Dismissed

by Berniard Law Firm

Death on the job is a sad reality that all too many Louisiana families face. When a loved one dies on the job, the victim’s family is not only left with an emotional hole, but a financial gap as well. Children, siblings and spouses who may have relied on the deceased’s income can face economic hardship. Fortunately, a wrongful death lawsuit can help ease this financial burden.

A wrongful death lawsuit seeks to recover damages a surviving family member or estate has suffered by the negligent death of a family member at the hands of another. Since these suits are brought on behalf of surviving family members, compensation cannot be recovered for injuries that are personal to the deceased. This means that pain and suffering and mental distress damages cannot be recovered through a wrongful death lawsuit. However, lost wages and other financial losses faced by the surviving family can be recovered.

A wrongful death is a death that is caused by the negligent act or omission of another. In certain circumstances, if the death is proven to be caused intentionally, a jury may be more likely to award a larger recovery. However, proving an intentional act can be difficult. This was illustrated recently in a case where a man was fatally wounded aboard a ship when he was struck by a crane load.

August 10, 2012

Jurisdiction for Appeals Important in Louisiana Litigation

by Berniard Law Firm

Jurisdiction and appeals are both complicated subjects that law students spend an entire year studying in law school. The intricacies of jurisdiction and the appeals process are also learned from years of practice in the legal field. One victim discovered this notion out the hard way when he brought suit after a medical incident in Alexandria, Louisiana. Some general background information is helpful before the case is discussed.

In order for a court to hear a case, that court must have jurisdiction over it. Jurisdiction is defined as the authority to hear a case and it is granted by the United State Constitution or by statute. Jurisdiction needs to be determined at each level as it goes through the either the federal or state court system.

The District Court hears most federal claims first because it is usually considered the lowest federal court. After a case goes through the lower court then the defendant typically has the right to appeal if the judgment that was rendered at the District Court was not favorable to his case. The Court of Appeals then needs to determine whether it has jurisdiction over that particular appeal.

August 8, 2012

Lawsuit Over Speech Rights and City Interests Shows Need for Competent Attorney

by Berniard Law Firm

Louisiana court dockets are packed. Judges are over-worked. This means that judges have little patience for frivolous lawsuits or claims that are not clearly defined. When claims are muddled, a judge may have difficulty discerning what issues are to be analyzed. This murky analysis can lead to erroneous conclusions that can lead meritorious claims to be dismissed. One of these cases was recently under consideration in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In this case, a South Padre Island restaurant owner brought suit against the city when city ordinances denied his desire to place an advertisement on a moored boat. The district and appellate courts found the claim to be ever-changing. Parties were added and removed and the claims themselves changed frequently. The lawsuit brought forth claims ranging from First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment violations to violations of Texas law. This muddied lawsuit caused the court confusion and led them to approach the case in a way that the plaintiff may not have intended.

The main issue in this case, according to the court, was whether or not the plaintiff had standing with regards to a First Amendment claim. In order for an individual to have Article III standing, a plaintiff must show an injury in fact that is concrete and particularized and actual or imminent; a causal connection between the injury and the conduct alleged in the complaint; and the likelihood that a favorable decision will redress the injury.

August 6, 2012

Boat Swell Accident Provides Look Into Res Judicata

by Berniard Law Firm

The first element of an independent action in equity that allows an individual to bypass res judicata analyzes whether the judge’s determination in the original case was truly fair and made in good conscience. When a judge shows bias, as in the boat swell case, the judge’s decision is likely swayed and not independent. This is unfair to the losing party and therefore helps a claim bypass res judicata.

The second element requires that the original case claim have merit. If the claim is frivolous, then there is no reason for the court to negate res judicata and grant a new trial. This again protects judicial efficiency and duplicitous suits. When determining the merit of the underlying suit, a judge will simply read the complaint to see if it makes an actual claim that, if true, would lead to recovery. In the boat swell case, the personal injury claim did have merit and thus satisfied this prong.

The third element requires courts to determine whether fraud was a reason that the losing party did not prevail in the underlying case. Similar to the first element, fraud is likely to sway a judge’s decision to the detriment of the losing party. This is what happened in the boat swell case as the judge’s decision was basically bought with lavish hunting trips.

August 1, 2012

Houma Boat Swell Accident Victim Convinces Court of Appeals to Bypass Res Judicata

by Berniard Law Firm

Though courts are busy and judges have overflowing dockets, our justice system requires courts to find time to hear cases worthy of adjudicating. This means that judges must be as efficient as possible. One way of doing this is to require claimants to converge all of their complaints into a single lawsuit. Failure to do this will bar a claimant from bringing a second lawsuit against the same party. This legal theory based in civil procedure is known as res judicata. It seeks to maintain judicial efficiency and protect litigants from facing duplicitous lawsuit from the same claimant. This important principle is important to understand for anyone going forward in a lawsuit because it could prevent a claimant from asserting any material claims against a wrong-doer that were not asserted in the first legal action.

Though courts are assumed to be honest, deceit and bias can seep into the legal fabric. When this occurs, the justice system must reanalyze the applicability of res judicata. One illustrative example of an instance like this took place recently in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The issue was complicated and was later resolved by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The case in question involved a personal injury lawsuit where a yacht’s boat swells threw another boat into the air and injured a woman in that boat. That injured woman filed suit against the yacht owners and their insurance company. At trial, the judge found for the defendants, essentially stating that the defendant’s expert witness was more reliable than the plaintiff’s expert.