Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
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.
The next day, he collapsed at home and died soon after. The cause of death on his death certificate was listed as an acute cardiovascular attempt, which related to his past medical conditions. His children petitioned the Medical Review Panel (“MRP”) alleging malpractice by the hospital and its medical professionals. But the MRP concluded that the standard of care had not been breached, partly because Mr. Fields had never come back in for a follow-up. Mr. Fields’ children then filed a lawsuit against the hospital and Mr. Fields’ doctor and nurse as its employees.
The hospital filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the case should be dismissed because there were no genuine issues of material fact. The hospital supported its motion with the MRP’s findings of no breach of care and no causation. Opposing the motion, Mr. Fields’ children supported their allegations with a statement from Dr. Blanche Borzelle, a board-certified physician stating that the nurse and doctor involved had breached the standard of care and concluding that the breach led to Mr. Fields’ death.
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.
How familiar are you with your motorist insurance policy? Are you fully covered for uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? In Louisiana, uninsured motorist coverage protects you if you’re in an accident with an at-fault driver who doesn’t carry liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage, on the other hand, steps in when you’re in an accident with an at-fault driver whose liability limits are too low to cover the damage or medical expenses. Every insurance policy in Louisiana is considered to include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage unless it is validly rejected. In a recent case, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal found that an electronic signature on an online form was valid to uphold an insurance policy. 
A unique feature of our American federal system is the separate yet intertwined system of state and federal courts. Sometimes a dispute may begin in a state court and end up in federal court. And sometimes, there may end up being parallel proceedings in both the state and federal systems. There are limits, however. A federal court can decline to hear an action if there is a parallel proceeding in the state court system. Recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of appeal was called upon to determine whether a district court erred when it declined to hear a declaratory action and related counterclaims.
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.
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.