When a dangerous product has injured a client, New Orleans personal injury attorneys usually will examine what warnings, if any, the manufacturer gave regarding the product’s use. In some cases, a product may be found to be dangerous because the manufacturer did not provide an adequate warning. Whether a manufacturer must provide a warning depends on the nature of the product. When a manufacturer learns, or reasonably should have learned, of a dangerous characteristic, they have a duty to provide a warning of that danger to anyone who uses or handles the product. However, there are exceptions to this requirement. No warning is necessary when the user knew or reasonably should have known of the product’s dangerous characteristic. For example, knives generally do not need warning labels because their danger should be obvious to the user. A warning also is not necessary when the extent of the product’s danger would be…Read More
Most health care facilities in the New Orleans area are comprised of competent and hardworking professionals. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the treatment provided to a patient falls below acceptable medical practice. When this happens, the patient may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. A health care provider’s treatment must meet an appropriate standard of care. Generally, all medical care providers must provide the care ordinarily possessed and exercised by members of the profession in good standing in the community. Where an alleged act raises issues peculiar to a medical specialty, the standard of care is that which is ordinarily practiced by those involved in the medical specialty. Examples of medical malpractice include: Failure to provide a patient with appropriate medical treatment; Incorrectly diagnosing or failing to recognize a medical condition; Unreasonable delay in providing care for a known medical condition. In a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff…Read More
Over the past several years, drivers in New Orleans have seen increased regulation of distracting behavior – such as cell phone use or texting – while operating a motor vehicle. While the danger of personal injury accidents caused by distracted drivers has become a great concern, there has been little federal guidance regarding how to control this dangerous behavior. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has finally changed that with the proposal of new guidelines aimed at combating distracted driving. The proposed guidelines address issues regarding the design and function of electronic devices built into light automobiles, such as cars and minivans. While the states have largely been limited to regulations attempting to change the behavior of drivers, these proposed federal guidelines are aimed at the manufacturers, who have been increasingly incorporating potentially distracting electronic devices into their vehicles. Specific recommendations include limiting the complexity and time necessary to…Read More
Dealing with Medicare laws has become an increasingly complicated area for New Orleans personal injury attorneys. Under federal law, Medicare has a right to recover any payments it made for medical treatment. This right extends to taking a portion of the damages awarded in a personal injury lawsuit. There are very strict regulations surrounding the requirements to report information regarding the settlement of a personal injury case to Medicare. If you are receiving Medicare, they will assert a lien against the proceeds of any settlement or judgment in your case. When you receive financial compensation, Medicare is required to be reimbursed for its expenses within sixty days. In some cases, Medicare may also have a right to take an additional portion of any financial compensation as payment for anticipated future medical expenses. This is known as a Medicare set-aside. When long term treatment is required, this set-aside may be extremely…Read More
When a New Orleans resident is injured by a power tool or other manufactured product, a potential claim against the company that made the dangerous device is governed by the Louisiana Products Liability Act. This law sets forth some very specific rules regarding older manufactured products in a personal injury lawsuit. Where problems may arise when pursuing manufacturers of older items – especially items such as power tools – is in proving that the manufacturer should have anticipated the condition of the product at the time of the injury. Under Louisiana law, the characteristic of the product that makes it unreasonably dangerous either must have existed when the product left the control of the manufacturer or must have arisen from an alteration or modification of the product that the manufacturer could have reasonably anticipated. Alterations or modifications that a manufacturer can reasonably anticipate include normal wear and tear, and changes that…Read More
When a citizen of New Orleans suffers a personal injury from a product used nationwide, they may not have to proceed alone. If enough people are injured by the actions of a company, a claim may be made as a group against that company. This is referred to as a class action lawsuit. Not all class action lawsuits involve physical injury; they may also involve issues such as illegal hiring practices. Examples of well-known class action lawsuits involving physical injury or wrongful death include cases against pharmaceutical companies for drugs with dangerous side effects and the recent cases against tobacco manufacturers. These lawsuits involve individuals from different geographic regions. So, for example, you suffer a physical injury from taking a dangerous drug in New Orleans but you may end up involved in a case with injured people from around the state or even the country. Also, class actions overcome the…Read More
For the most part, the medical practitioners of New Orleans are hardworking, conscientious individuals who make a diligent effort to do their best for their patients. While this does not mean that they never make mistakes, Louisiana’s laws do attempt to protect doctors and other medical providers by placing limitations on when they may be successfully sued for medical malpractice. First, the individual claiming to have been injured must be able to prove that – as a result of the medical provider’s error or failure to act – he or she suffered an injury that would not otherwise have occurred. Even when a mistake is made, if it does not result in any actual harm to the patient, then there is no basis for the patient receiving financial compensation for an injury. Second, even if an injury did occur as a result of a medical provider’s mistake in treatment or…Read More
New Orleans personal injury lawsuits can become complicated when medical payments are being made by government-run programs or even, in some cases, private health insurers. This is because, in many cases, these parties may have a right to full – or at least partial – reimbursement for any payments made to treat injuries for a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit. As a result, the agency or agencies covering medical expenses will usually want to be apprised of any resolution of the personal injury lawsuit so that they can ensure that their rights are not compromised. Further complicating such matters are several issues, including what rights does the particular agency possess, its influence over resolving the lawsuit, and the fact that the circumstances under which it is entitled to full or partial compensation may vary greatly from agency to agency. Dealing with Medicare can be particularly important. This federal program…Read More
It’s become a personal injury cliché: On some street in New Orleans, a driver lightly bumps the car ahead of him at a stoplight and the other driver jumps out holding his neck and shouting, “Whiplash!” He then sues the other driver. It is unfortunate the whiplash has become a word so associated with false claims of injury. Whiplash is an actual medical term referring to a hyperextension or over-extension injury to the neck. It is thought to be brought about when a person’s body is pushed violently forward, causing the head to snap up and back. This may lead to stretching or tearing of some muscles and ligaments in the neck. In response to the injury, the neck muscles contract to bring the head forward again and prevent excessive injury. Unfortunately, in situations such as automobile accidents where the body is rapidly decelerating, this can rock the head violently…Read More
Drowsy or distracted drivers pose a serious danger to other users of New Orleans’ streets. Because most personal injury motor vehicle accidents are, at least to some degree, attributable to the negligence of one or more drivers, auto manufacturers have been working for years on new technologies that will assist drivers in decision making. One of the latest of involves monitoring systems designed to help the driver remain in the correct lane. While several auto makers have quietly introduced systems designed to assist in lane centering for a limited number of vehicles in recent years, the Ford Motor Company recently announced that it will be offering what it terms “lane-keeping technology” as an option on certain 2013 models. This system is apparently much more comprehensive than earlier systems and, under certain conditions, allows the system to take control of the steering to return the vehicle to the center of the…Read More
