Everyone expects adequate, timely, and complete care from medical professionals in hospitals. However, unfortunately, times come when the expected level of care fails to come to fruition, and an action for medical malpractice arises. In March of 1993, a Tallulah, Louisiana, resident began a series of trips to doctors in…
On August 7, 2002, James Wilson was driving his car southbound on Essen Lane in Baton Rouge. When he attempted to make a left turn onto the on-ramp for I-10, Wilson pulled into the path of an oncoming car driven by Barbara White northbound on Essen. The crash left Wilson…
As part of our Constitutional right to due process, an individual is allowed to bring grievances before a court. However, certain judicial policies may be enacted to deny plaintiffs from bringing suits that have already been litigated, are being brought with the intent to harass, or are frivolous. The purpose…
The following case highlights the importance of waiting no time in bringing a cause of action that is available. In 2008, Debra Goulas worked as a bookkeeper for Sunbelt Air Conditioning Supply in Baton Rouge. Jessie Touchet, owner of Sunbelt, and Diane Jones, Goulas’s manager, accused her of stealing over…
In a recent Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, a plaintiff successfully appealed an earlier dismissal of his case for failure to properly serve all of the correct parties. After Hurricane Gustav, Mr, Preston was working on the Southern University campus removing debris, including trimming tree branches, when he…
Louisiana law reflects the state legislature’s interest in protecting the health and safety of residents of rental property. For instance, landlords are required to warrant that a house is “suitable for the purpose for which it was leased” and that it is “free of vices or defects that prevent its…
Our previous post discussed the various principles of contract law at work in the Mendoza case, which can be viewed here. This case involved a dispute between an injured worker’s employer and another company with which that employer had a contract. A provision of this contract provided for indemnification, the…
A well-written contract can not only solve most problems, it can prevent most problems from becoming problems in the first place. For a contract to have its maximum problem eliminating effect, however, all parties to the contract must agree as to what it mean. Contract law is filled with cases…
A defendant who wishes to challenge a jury’s damages award can petition the court for a new trial. As this is often an undesirable path for both the defendant and the plaintiff, Louisiana law offers an alternative approach: when the trial court believes that the verdict is “so excessive ……
When apportioning fault between two or more parties in a negligence action, the finder of fact is given great deference on review. An appellate court may not set aside a trial court’s finding unless there is “manifest error” or it is “clearly wrong.” Cole v. Dept. of Public Safety &…