Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Louisiana law holds responsible those who cause injury to others by failing to repair unreasonably dangerous conditions in their custody or control. This type of liability is called “custodial liability.” For example, a university that fails to maintain its walkways so as to cause injury to pedestrians can be held liable for damages by injured persons. However, the university in this example would not be liable for conditions which are considered “open and obvious.” In a recent case, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal helped illustrate what is meant by “open and obvious.”
In 2011, Reina Abolofia was riding her bike at night on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge when she hit an unmarked and unpainted concrete-filled metal pole that had been installed in the middle of the sidewalk. She suffered injuries as a result and filed a lawsuit against LSU alleging seeking to hold LSU responsible for her damages under La. C.C. art. 2317 and La. C.C. art. 2317.1 with respect to defects of things that cause damage.
During discovery, Ms. Abolofia learned that the portion of sidewalk where her accident occurred was partly owned by LSU and partly owned by Southgate Towers, LLC. She added Southgate Towers as a defendant because it was unclear if Southgate had erected the metal pole or LSU had done so and on whose property the pole was situated.
Language is key when it comes to the law. A court cannot give a plaintiff what he or she asks for if the request is vague. In a similar vein, a judgment’s lack of certain magic words can render it defective. Words have precise meanings in order to be given legal effect. This is illustrated by a recent of the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. In this case, the Court of Appeal found that a trial court’s judgment lacked the required decretal language required to give the document legal effect.
Nursing homes have become an integral part of our society due to America’s aging population. Families need nursing homes to help them care for elderly parents and relatives, disabled individuals, and other people requiring increased care. Most nursing homes treat their residents with industry-standard care; but what if you discovered that someone you love had been mistreated, or even abused, by the nursing home you trusted to care for them? This is what happened with the family of Ms. Lessie Porter.
It is no secret that a lawsuit has the potential to become a tangled web of procedural issues. This is why it is always a good idea to secure a good attorney with experience in dealing with the court system. Perhaps less common is the situation where the judge, the party responsible for ensuring an efficient and timely resolution of the dispute, gets tripped up in this procedural web. This is exactly the situation below.
When an accident occurs, it’s often difficult to determine what actually happened until the aftermath, but in the justice system, piecing a puzzle together and drawing conclusions based on little remaining evidence rarely constitutes enough of a basis to file a lawsuit. As the court said in the case of Benjamin Tomaso when he attempted to file a lawsuit against Home Depot, “[s]peculation as to what caused an accident cannot supply the factual support necessary to show that a plaintiff would be able to meet his evidentiary burden of proof at trial.” 
Do you know your constitutional rights? In 2014 one-third of Americans were unaware of their First Amendment rights according to a Newseum Institute survey. This is an alarming truth that we, as citizens, must face. Here are some questions I pose to you: Do you know your Fourth Amendment rights? Can a law enforcement officer arrest someone without probable cause? What is probable cause? What is qualified immunity? A recent
Reasonable minds could perhaps agree that “reasonableness” is a word not easily defined. What is reasonable to one person may or may not be reasonable to another. Yet, “reasonableness” is often the term used to measure the soundness of lower courts’ decisions on appeal. And in the case at hand, a “reasonable” conclusion by one person completely barred an entire personal injury lawsuit against multiple parties.
When it comes to road safety, you can only rely on yourself. Know the rules of the road and always take precautions. In a recent case, a car accident dispute was brought to court to determine the liability of the parties. The case explains the responsibilities of motorists in Louisiana and why you should only rely on yourself for proper road safety and not assume that everyone else will take adequate precautions. The plaintiffs in a recent case learned this lesson the hard way.
Professionals in various fields whose work greatly impacts the lives of others may find themselves accused of malpractice. Especially in medicine where a seemingly simple mistake can end one’s life, the lawsuits that stem from malpractice can bring large awards to plaintiffs. This is where malpractice insurance comes in, to make sure these amounts are paid without completely destroying the livelihood of that professional. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal discussed malpractice insurance issues in a recent ruling.
Accidents frequently occur in construction zones and they may be the fault of the injured party or someone else involved in the renovation site. Courts are often tasked with deciding whether the injured person is responsible for his or her own injury or if a different party is at fault. A recent case in Metairie highlights the complexities of identifying the responsible party.