The Need to Hire an Attorney For Car Accidents Illustrated in Recent Case
Victim John Deshotels learned the hard way what happens when you don't have a an attorney represent you in an accident injury claim. He took his case to trial unrepresented and lost. Even after getting an attorney the damage was done and he lost again in a recent Court of Appeals decision.
Plaintiff John Deshotels appealed the trial court's granting of involuntary dismissal of his case against Nicholas J. Fontenot and his insurance company. Deshotels alleged he was rear ended by a car driven by Fontenot and injured.The case went to trial and following Deshotels' presentation of his evidence, the insurance company moved for involuntary dismissal pursuant to La. Code Civ.P. art. 1672 (B)
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1672 (B) states:
In an action tried by the court without a jury, after the plaintiff has completed the presentation of his evidence, any party... may move for a dismissal of the action as to him on the ground that upon the facts and law, the plaintiff has shown no right to relief. The court may then determine the facts and render judgment against the plaintiff and in favor of the moving party or may decline to render any judgment until the close of all the evidence.
Trial courts have discretion to grant an involuntary dismissal if, after weighing the evidence, they determine the plaintiff has not proved their claim by a preponderance of the evidence, or the "more likely than not" standard.
In this case Deshotels was able to establish at trial that he and Fontenot were in an accident and that Fontenot had $5300 worth of repairs done to his vehicle. The parties' stories conflict as to how the accident occurred. Deshotels testified that he suffered pain over his entire body after the accident and went to see Dr. Tommy Fontenot complaining of extreme redness on his left ankle and extreme pain in his neck. Deshotels also testified that he took hydrocodone for the pain. However, he was unable to produce bills for doctor visits or his medication. The evidence was insufficient to prove that Fontenot acted negligently, and the Court of Appeals found that the trial court did not err in that finding.
The Court of Appeals also disagreed with Deshotels argument that the trial court should have allowed him to introduce the traffic ticket Fontenot received after the accident. It is well established that a civil traffic citation is inadmissable to show a party was charged with a traffic violation.
Car accident victims may feel they have an open and shut negligence case against someone who has hit and injured them. However, proving the elements of negligence requires factual investigation, potential expert witnesses, and importantly, an attorney well versed in the law and pitfalls that could potentially arise. If a plaintiff does not prove that it is more likely than not a defendant acted below the appropriate standard of care and that action caused injury and damages, the case could be dismissed, as happened here. If you have been injured in a car accident, it is very important that you have an accomplished, experienced attorney to help you navigate the often messy legal waters.
