Strict Liability

May 29, 2010

Iberville Parish Car Crash Explores Doctrine of Sudden Emergency

Under Louisiana law, the doctrine of sudden emergency is a defense available to a defendant who is confronted with a sudden and unexpected situation of danger and who responds as a reasonably prudent person would under the circumstances. The doctrine serves to limit the defendant’s liability even if it is later determined that he did not chose the ideal course of action in response to the sudden danger.

The Court of Appeal has expressed:

it is the settled jurisprudence of this state that a person is not obligated to exercise the same degree of care or judgment as is required under ordinary circumstances… A mistake of judgment or failure to adopt the best or wisest course for avoiding injury does not necessarily result in a finding of negligence. To contend otherwise is to attempt to exact hindsight instead of foresight from a motorist faced with a sudden emergency (Fouche v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 153 So.2d 180 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1963).

May 24, 2010

Shreveport Slip and Fall Illustrates Law’s Approach to Liability

by Berniard Law Firm

If you have slipped and fallen in a Louisiana store, you may not realize you are not alone. What’s more, you might not understand that you may have the legal rights to make a claim against the store for the incident. Just recently a lawsuit was filed in western Louisiana by a customer of a store who injured herself on the premise. These types of cases are classically known as “slip and fall” case. The victim in this case, Leona Jordan, was shopping at Walmart when she slipped on water that had accumulated on the floor and fell. Jordan was injured and hurt her hip, back, knee, and leg.

These types of accidents are far from rare. In fact, earlier this month Ellen Hickman injured herself at a Louisiana Dollar General store. She slipped and fell on a small plastic toy. As a result of the accident, she hurt her lower back, back of her head, ankle, and right leg.

If you have had a similar experience, you should know that Louisiana has laws in place to protect you.

April 29, 2010

West Baton Rouge poll worker wins “slip and fall” case against land owner

by Berniard Law Firm

In the predawn hours of an October 21, 1995, election day, Elizabeth Cazes arrived at a polling place on Antonio Road in West Baton Rouge where she was scheduled to work as election commissioner. She entered the building using a set of concrete steps at the front entrance of the building that were dimly lit by a single light bulb at approximately 5:20 a.m.

About a half hour later, Ms. Cazes came back outside to post an election sign. As she descended down the stairs, Cazes slipped and fell when she placed her foot on a cracked off portion of the bottom step. Cazes broke her fall with her right hand causing a severe fracture to her right wrist which required multiple surgeries and an external fixation device to be applied to her arm. Ms. Cazes filed suit against the Parish of West Baton Rouge (the “Parish) and the West Baton Rouge Parish Council (the “Council”), who were identified as the owners of the polling place. Cazes alleged that the stairs were defective and that the Parish and Council were strictly liable for her injuries. The trial court found for Cazes, and the Parish and Council appealed.

In an effort to make the voting process as pleasant as possible for all Louisiana citizens, state law requires that the owner of a polling place provide a “reasonably safe place for all voters and election commissioners expected to frequent the premises.” Burgess v. City of Shreveport, 471 So.2d 690, 693 (La. 1985). A polling place owner who allows his facility to fall into disrepair risks a legal claim from in injured voter under a theory of strict liability. Under this theory, an injured plaintiff is required to show: (1) the property which caused the injury was under the control of the defendant; (2) the property’s condition created an unreasonable risk of harm to persons on the premises; and (3) the defect in the property was a cause of the injury. See Oster v. Dept. of Transp. & Development, 582 So. 2d 1285 (La. 1991). When the polling place owner is the government, Louisiana law further requires the plaintiff to prove that the owner knew or should have known of the defect, and that it had a reasonable amount of time to repair the problem but did not do so. La. R.S. 9:2800.