Articles Posted in Negligence

When one enters the hospital in times of a medical emergency, they hope that they will receive the highest standard of care possible. Often there can be uncertainty, however, as to what the threshold is for the highest acceptable standard of care. In an emergency, it can also become unclear what treatment was received exactly.

 What does “not charted, not done” mean, and how does it apply to medical negligence cases in Louisiana? This very issue arose recently at the Louisiana Court of Appeals recently when the testimony of a doctor at Lakeland medical center conflicted with his documented treatment of a patient who subsequently died. 

Wonica Royal died on April 1, 2003, after she had been discharged from Lakeland hospital. When Ms. Royal presented to the emergency room there had been no nurse at the triage desk. Dr. Juan Blanch, an emergency room physician, was at the desk, however, and he performed the assessment of Ms. Royal. Ms. Royal was administered breathing treatment and antibiotics and discharged on the same day in “good condition.” The next day she died of a pulmonary embolism. 

slip_heads_up_warning-1024x728Slip and fall claims are among the most common types of personal injury lawsuits. But how do you ensure that your claim makes it through the legal process? A dismissed case against a Metairie restaurant can show you what mistakes to avoid in setting up your slip-and-fall claim for success. 

Plaintiff Richard J. Boutall lost his footing and fell to the floor while exiting Minerva Cafe in 2013. As a result of his fall, Boutall broke his femur, was hospitalized for three weeks, and incurred over $30,000 in medical bills. In addition, during this three-week stay, Boutall endured multiple surgeries, including a hip replacement and an insertion of a surgical rod in his leg.

In a lawsuit against the cafe owner, he alleged that a small concrete ramp caused his fall at the door’s threshold. To support his claim, the plaintiff presented the expert report of a professional engineer who studied photographs of the cafe’s entryway. However, the trial court dismissed this case on summary judgment, meaning that it found that the claim did not state facts that would entitle the plaintiff to relief if they were proven true. Mr. Boutall appealed the dismissal. 

maritime_history_metal_historical-1024x680Medical conditions can be a sensitive topic for both employers and employees. While employers are extremely cautious in not asking discriminatory questions, the employees may still be reluctant and afraid to lay all cards on the table. Understandably, workers who suffer from pre-existing medical conditions feel that they don’t need to inform their employers as long as the illnesses are not getting in the way of work. But should they? A recent case from Lousiana Fourth Circuit illuminates the legal consequences where the employee lied on the medical forms and later requested worker’s compensation.

Seaman Rousse injured his back while performing his duties as a deckhand on a United Tugs vessel in 2014. His injuries caused him to have two lumbar spine surgeries. United Tugs paid his maintenance and cure, covering his medical expenses. However, three years later, in 2017, United was alerted that Rousse had significant back injuries before he started working on the vessel. He failed to disclose his prior medical treatments during the hiring process. As a result, United sought restitution of the paid compensation. The district court ruled in favor of United, holding that Rousse had forfeited his entitlement to receive maintenance and cure because he concealed that he had suffered back injuries before employment. Rousse appealed.

A duty for maintenance and cure means that the vessel owner must “provide food, lodging, and medical services to a seaman injured while serving the ship.” Lewis & Clark Marine Inc., 531 U.S. 438, 441 (2001). However, this duty is not absolute. When a seaman intentionally conceals or fails to disclose past illness when required by an employer, the employer’s obligation to pay maintenance and cure is eliminated. McCorpen v. Cent. Gulf S.S. Corp., 396 F.2d (5th Cir. 1968). This exception rule is called the McCorpen defense. The U.S. Supreme Court has neither adopted nor rejected the McCorpen defense, resulting in a split among the federal circuit regarding what non-disclosures could bar the employee from receiving benefits. The Louisiana Fourth Circuit found McCorpen persuasive and decided to follow McCorpen in this maritime lawsuit.

workers_construction_worker_work-1024x576It can be a long road to recovery from a work-related injury. If you or a loved one suffered an injury on the job, it is crucial to understand the workers’ compensation system to comply with all the requirements to receive any compensation to which you are entitled. 

Carl Gabriel worked as a “Ready Reserve” employee at Delta. Less than two months after he started working, he was injured when a tow bar fell onto his foot. After a dispute with his employer over indemnity payments, Gabriel filed a Disputed Claim for Compensation, Form 1008, with the Office of Workers’ Compensation (“OWC”). He asserted that Delta failed to pay indemnity benefits and timely pay and authorize medical benefits. There was a trial where Gabriel won, with the court finding that Gabriel was entitled to benefits from Delta. 

Gabriel then filed a second Disputed Claim for Compensation, alleging that Delta had failed to pay the amounts owed to him under the prior judgment. He also sought penalties under La. R.S. 23:1201(F) and (G) for Delta’s failure to pay correctly. He also alleged that he was temporarily totally disabled again because of a worsening of his medical condition. Gabriel went to two physicians in Atlanta, Georgia, to deal with his worsening condition. Delta argued that neither Gabriel nor his physicians ever properly requested approval for the recommended treatment through Form 1010, submitted to Gabriel’s adjuster. Instead, Gabriel sought approval informally via fax. 

police_baltimore_police_officer-1024x648Despite stringent rules and regulations designed to keep unlicensed drivers off the road, minors often find their way behind the wheel. Police in Gonzales, Louisiana, were forced to reckon with the seriousness of such a driver when a high-speed police chase on Interstate 10 turned deadly in May of 2004. The outcome of this chase became the subject of a lawsuit left unsettled until 2017—a case which pondered: to what standard should police be held when engaged in an active car chase?

Just before eight o’clock in the evening, a Gonzales city police officer noticed an Oldsmobile without its headlights activated. The car, failing to stop or slow down, was pursued onto Interstate 10 by Louisiana State Police. The chase continued for nearly twenty minutes despite attempts to stop the vehicle with a spike strip. Then, the Oldsmobile’s fourteen-year-old driver lost control of the car and spun into a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, driven by the Bristols. The Oldsmobile driver died on impact, while all seven passengers in the other car were severely injured, prompting a lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police. At trial, a jury found no liability for the Bristols’ injuries on the part of the department, and an appeal followed.

The Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act is excepted by La R.S. 32:24—which provides, under certain circumstances, statutory immunity to drivers of emergency vehicles. As such, police officers are allowed to exceed maximum speed limits and disregard other road rules so long as they maintain regard for the safety of others and have their audible or visual signals activated. However, this exception is not absolute: juries are allowed to determine, based on the circumstances and after being instructed on the law, whether a standard of ordinary negligence or a heightened reckless disregard standard should gauge the standard of care for an emergency vehicle driver. Lenard v. Dilley, 784 So.2d 706 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

hospital_ward_hospital_medical_0-1024x683Sickness often begets a doctor’s visit, and sometimes severe illness calls for a trip to the emergency room. So when parents, David Pitts, Jr. and Kenyetta Gurley, arrived at Hood Memorial Hospital in Amite City, Louisiana, with their daughter, Lyric, it’s likely neither expected to leave there without their daughter’s health restored.

 Upon arrival at the emergency room, Lyric’s mother described her daughter’s symptoms as breathing “funny” and faster than usual and disclosed that she had thrown up twice earlier in the day. The hospital recorded that “Lyric had not had any liquid intake since 4:00 PM, and no output (i.e., dirty diaper) since 2:00 PM.” Around 7:30 PM, after Dr. Rhoda Jones (“Dr. Jones”) examined Lyric, she noted Lyric’s “shortness of breath” and “wheezing” in her lungs. Dr. Jones’s initial diagnosis was “asthma, possible pneumonia, and RSV,” so she ordered a chest x-ray, CBC (complete blood count), CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel), and a test for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). The results of the chest x-ray came back normal, and the RSV test came back negative. Nevertheless, one of the nurses tending to Lyric had asked Dr. Jones at least three times if Lyric could be taken to another facility. Still, Dr. Jones insisted that no one would admit Lyric with negative or normal lab results and no fever.

 Lyric stayed at the hospital overnight. However, by 2:30 AM, Dr. Jones was called in to check on Lyric, and at approximately 3:00 PM, while she was holding Lyric, the 7-month-old baby had a seizure and stopped breathing. About an hour later, Lyric was declared dead, and the cause of death was listed as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).

highway_jam_baustelle_jam-1024x769Imagine you were just in an accident, and you pulled over on the shoulder of the interstate highway. Traffic is roaring in your ears, the wind is whipping past your face, and you can feel the congested car flows as your tires buzz. Luckily, you are not injured. As you are waiting for the police to arrive, another collision happens right beside you two. Brakes are being slammed, and horns are being blown, but the chain reaction is just unstoppable. A third car darts into the road shoulder, toppling the vehicle behind you and slamming it in your direction. You are hit again.

According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, rear-end collisions are the most common type of car accident in the United States. A pileup accident multiplies the danger of a single rear-end accident. It often causes severe body injuries, expensive medical bills, and piles of insurance paperwork. Who should be held liable for your pain and suffering when pileups occur? A recent case on Interstate 10 explored this question and provided answers for the poor victims.

Mr. Chanthasalo found himself in such a position where he just had a narrow escape from one life-threatening accident but got involved in another. In the first accident, Mr. Chanthasalo was rear-ended by Ms. Deshotel. In the second accident, Ms. Schum was rear-ended by Mr. Mitchell and hit Ms. Deshotel. Mr. Chanthasalo filed a lawsuit in Louisiana trial court against all three cars behind him and their respective insurers, State Farm, USAA Casualty Insurance Company, and Progressive. He later settled with Mr. Mitchell, the last driver, and his insurer. The controversy in the appeal focused mainly on Ms. Deshotel’s (the lady that first hit Chanthasalo) liability.

balconyKnowing what is in an insurance agreement can determine whether or not you are covered for different injuries. If a buyer signed a policy, did not ensure that certain aspects were covered, and then never bothered to check or revise the policy, this person will likely be held accountable for knowing precisely what is in that policy.

In April 2011, Ray Periso rented a house from Mr. Vu on Ashville Drive in Slidell, Louisiana. When he was on the balcony, its railing collapsed, causing Mr. Periso to fall fifteen feet and sustain injuries. Mr. Periso sued his landlord as part of a tort lawsuit in the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Tammany, but Mr. Vu wanted his insurance company to pay for these damages. Unfortunately, his insurance plan did not cover personal liability; therefore, he filed a third-party demand against Southern Fidelity Insurance Company (SFIC) and his insurance agent, Mr. Frazier, alleging negligence in not covering personal liability. The District Court dismissed this third-party demand. A series of appeals by Mr. Vu in the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal followed.

In Mr. Vu’s first appeal, the Court of Appeal affirmed dismissing SFIC because its insurance policy plainly did not provide for personal liability coverage. However, it left open the issue of Mr. Frazier’s negligence. Mr. Frazier then filed a peremptory exception, claiming that Mr. Vu’s negligence assertions were perempted or filed too late. The Court of Appeal agreed with Mr. Frazier and dismissed Mr. Vu’s claims.

drink_alcohol_drunk_glass-1024x683The history of American jurisprudence is filled with various attempts by state legislatures and courts to grapple with the issue of liability that should be imposed on those in the business of serving alcohol. On the one hand, it makes logical sense to hold bars responsible for profiting from serving drinks to patrons to the point of intoxication and sending them out the door to wreak havoc on the world. Indeed, many jurisdictions have enacted “dram shop” laws to create this kind of liability. On the other hand, individual responsibility is a strong and enduring concept, and many states place the responsibility for drunken behavior squarely on the party that imbibes.

Arthur B. Tregre, Jr. was driving his vehicle southbound on Louisiana Highway 52 in St. Charles Parish. The car immediately ahead of him was driven by Dallas Veillon. When Veillon attempted to make a left turn, a police cruiser, driven northbound by Deputy Jeff Watson, crashed head-on into Veillon’s car. As a result of this collision, the police cruiser then hit Tregre’s car, seriously injuring him and killing Deputy Watson. 

Tregre filed a lawsuit against several parties following the incident. The defendants included the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department based on the fact that Deputy Watson was on duty at the time of the accident; Veillon, whom Tregre alleged was drinking at Boogie’s Bar in Larose immediately before the accident; and Darrel Ranatza, the owner of Boogie’s Bar. Tregre argued that Ranatza was liable for the accident because, even knowing Veillon was unfit to drive due to intoxication, the bar’s employees ejected him from Boogie’s.

hair salon slip fallA customer sustaining severe and permanent injuries from a slip and fall accident at a business can cause one to wonder about the potential liability of the business owner. This can become even more complex in a situation where the business owner has leased the unit from the party that owns the building. A building owner may be liable for the injury, even when the unit has been leased out. 

On October 24th, 2014, Ms. Greer visited Sportsman’s Hairadise in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Ms. Greer claimed that a salon employee instructed Ms. Greer to park behind the building and then access the unit through the rear entrance of the building. Ms. Greer used this entrance and had to take a single step down to enter the salon. Unfortunately, as Ms. Greer navigated down the step, she fell down and hit the concrete floor. Ms. Greer alleged that the fall caused severe, permanent, and debilitating injuries. Sportsman’s Hairadise leased the premises from Railroad Square, LLC (“Railroad Square”), which owned the building. 

Ms. Greer filed a lawsuit against Railroad Square in the Twenty-First Judicial District Court for the Parish of Tangipahoa, Louisiana. Ms. Greer alleged that the premises contained several defects presenting harm. These harms included a step-down of greater height than allowed by building code, a surface made up of different gradients, an absence of handrails, a lack of adequately marked surface edges, and insufficient warnings of the step-down.

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