Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
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.
The dispute centers on a medical malpractice claim. Ms. Johnson showed up to Tulane University Hospital and Clinic (Hospital) one evening suffering from a severe headache and double vision. The Hospital staff administered an IV in Johnson’s arm, which later became infected. The Hospital discharged her with some antibiotics and told her to follow up with her primary care physician. Ultimately, the infection worsened and required a more serious antibiotic treatment and even surgery. Johnson sued the Hospital and the nursing staff.
Johnson alleged six total negligence claims against the Hospital and the nurses. Pursuant to the Hospital’s summary judgment motion, the Trial Court dismissed all five allegations against the nursing staff but allowed one claim to proceed against the Hospital. That one claim pertained to the antibiotic dosage the Hospital prescribed to Johnson after her initial visit.
When you are in a motor vehicle accident, there are many issues that can arise as to the issue of fault and whose version of events is more reliable. Conflicting versions of what happened can make it difficult for the court to assign fault. It is thus important to always be aware of your surroundings and the laws of driving a motor vehicle, as illustrated in the following case. 
In November 2008, in Claiborne Parish, Mr. Fields went to Willis Knighton Claiborne Regional Health Center for complaints of diarrhea. Mr. Fields also had an extended history of medical issues, including hypertension and a kidney transplant. He saw a nurse practitioner, who consulted with a doctor and gave him a prescription for a generic antibacterial, which he took as directed. About a week later, he called his doctor’s office complaining that the medicine was making him feel worse. He alleged that he was instructed to continue taking the medicine as originally directed.
When asserting a claim under constitutional law, the moving party must meet a specific standard that is easily navigated by an attorney. As one Louisiana man recently learned, without the help of a lawyer, navigating these pleading standards can be difficult and detrimental to the outcome of your case.
In a lawsuit, a client’s claims need to be monitored every step of the way. If an issue is revived in an appeal, an attorney must keep track of it and reinforce it at each new representation. If an attorney doesn’t continue to assert a claim, a court might think the party abandoned the issue and the court will not review it on appeal. Keeping these claims alive is not a major undertaking, but as Glenn E. Alphonse, Jr. learned in his recent case, even the slightest misstep in this area can make or break an outcome. 
We enter into contracts all the time without putting the agreement in writing; we form contracts when we buy a cup of coffee, when we shop online, etc. Some types of contracts, however, are required by law to be in writing. Kevin and Monica Schmidt (the Schmidts) learned this the hard way when they could not enforce an oral agreement to frack oil wells in Beauregard Parish.
Sometimes we don’t have the best neighbors. For example, a neighbor might block access to your land, arguing that it is, in fact, the neighbor’s land you traverse on a daily basis. When such a dispute arises, get a good real estate attorney. If ingress to a piece of your property requires you to pass over someone else’s land, you might need to seek an easement. An easement is simply a right of passage through someone else’s land. This can be done in one of three ways: (1) by agreement, (2) by traditional or historic use, or (3) by necessity. In a recent case, the parties fought over the right to pass over a gravel road in Webster Parish, Louisiana. In the case, the court discusses its discretion in deciding whether an easement is necessary. 
The importance of adhering to required timelines and District Court orders could not be overstated. A failure to comply with court deadlines can result not only in your claims being dismissed but also a heavy fine. Former inmates at Richwood Correctional Center (“RCC”) learned that the hard way on appeal in the Louisiana Second Circuit of Appeal.
Filing and pursuing a lawsuit is no small task. Besides the often-significant monetary aspect, a plaintiff (the party filing the lawsuit) should be prepared for a large time commitment and effort in providing the necessary evidence to support their case. Good lawyers know how to aid their clients in gathering evidence and navigating the logistical aspects of a lawsuit as efficiently as possible. Litigation can sometimes take years, but a seasoned lawyer will know how to provide the motivation clients need to successfully pursue their claims and reach recovery. In a recent case out of Zachary Louisiana, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit he was simply not prepared to effectively maintain.
The goal of marriage is often “happily ever after.” Sometimes, it does not end up working out that way. What happens when a child born during a marriage is the result of an affair? What legal rights does the real father have towards establishing that the child is his? The following case out of Acadia Parish demonstrates Louisiana’s jurisprudentially-created doctrine of avowal.