Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Have you ever been involved in a slip and fall accident inside a store resulting from water being on the floor? Were you injured as a result? If so, who would you think was at fault? How would you receive just compensation? In a recent case, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal discusses the necessary factors a plaintiff must prove in order to show that a merchant – such as a grocery store, clothing store, or even the owner of a food truck – was responsible for the injuries sustained resulting from a slip and fall accident.
This lawsuit originated from a slip and fall accident occurring on December 16, 2012, when Donna Ferlicca exited Brookshire Grocery Company’s store in Monroe, Louisiana. Upon entering the store, Ms. Ferlicca slipped and fell. There was allegedly water on the floor from the rainfall outside. Ms. Ferlicca suffered a fractured left arm resulting from her fall. On January 31, 2013, Ms. Ferlicca filed a lawsuit against Brookshire her damages. A bench trial proceeded. A bench trial is a trial where the finder of fact is a judge or panel of judges rather than a jury.
The Trial Court ruled in favor of Ms. Ferlicca and awarded her general damages of $21,000.00 and special damages of $4,921.12. General damages are damages that do not have a fixed amount meaning the amount can vary based on any level of pain and suffering, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment the plaintiff has suffered. Special damages are those damages that usually have a fixed market value such as lost wages, medical bills, or future medical expenses. These type of damages (general and special damages) are called Compensatory Damages. Compensatory damages are designed to place the plaintiff back into the position she would have been if she had not been injured. The Trial Court ruled in favor of Ms. Ferlicca holding that 90% of fault belonged to Brookshire and 10% of fault belonged to Ms. Ferlicca herself. However, Brookshire filed an appeal to dispute the ruling of the Trial Court. Brookshire argued that the Trial Court failed to properly apply slip and fall law in this case.
Legal issues can be separated into procedural and substantive categories. Although some may view procedural requirements as mere technicalities, they are essential to the efficient and fair operation of the legal system. Parties to a lawsuit must ensure that they meet all procedural requirements of a lawsuit, or else risk the lawsuit being decided against them. In a recent case, the defendant attempted to have the case dismissed based on an alleged procedural failure by the plaintiff. It demonstrates the importance of procedural requirements, as well as the complexities of some procedural issues.
Imagine that your mother, a friend, or someone else you love dearly suffers from numerous health problems. In a terrible twist of fate, your loved one falls, worsening their current condition and making life more painful and difficult than it already is. To top it all off, what would already be considered a trying process is exacerbated because you feel like the doctors who are caring for your loved one aren’t listening to your input or concerns. After many visits to the emergency room and overnight hospital stays, your loved one passes away. Despite the health conditions before the fall, you feel like something wrong occurred during your loved one’s treatment and someone should be held responsible. This was exactly the scenario for the loved ones of Ms. Mary LeBoeuf. Five individuals, including her son and long-time partner, filed a lawsuit against her doctor, the hospital, and the orthopedic clinic on her behalf.
Imagine going for a horseback ride to clear your head and take a time-out from the hectic everyday happenings of life. Now imagine that the relaxing ride comes abruptly to an end when both you and the horse are involved in a collision with an automobile. A similar situation occurred on Hano Road in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana when Taresa Graves and her horse were hit by a car driven by Andre Freeman. Aside from the injuries suffered during the accident, the real headache began for Ms. Graves once the trial began out of a lawsuit she filed against both Mr. Freeman and Safeway Insurance of Louisiana, the company having previously insured the car that Mr. Freeman was driving. 
When plaintiffs sue based upon statutes, legal decisions often hinge upon how the statute is interpreted. In many cases, this can depend on how the court interprets the meaning of a single word within the statute. In order to interpret legal statutes, courts employ a process known as statutory construction. In this case the court utilized statutory construction to determine that the meaning of “claim” used in the Louisiana Revised Statutes did not apply to a final “judgment” issued by a court.
We’ve all been in the situation where we’re sitting at a red light or approaching an intersection and all of a sudden we hear sirens and see flashing lights. Everyone knows to stop and yield to the oncoming ambulance. Sometimes, however, a driver might not yield for whatever reason. This is exactly what happened in this case, which involves an EMT who was injured on the job while riding in an ambulance.
Buying or selling a home is a complicated process filled with legal and practical pitfalls that can cause problems for both the buyer and seller. One of the most important steps that a person engaged in a transaction with potential legal issues must take is to speak with a good lawyer who can navigate the process and make sure their rights and interests are protected to the fullest extent possible. A good lawyer can also make sure that the buyer or seller understands all the implications of contractual language. In a home sale, every word in the agreement is important and can alter the rights of everyone involved in the transaction. One or two seemingly insignificant words can entirely change the rights and protections that a party may normally receive under the law. The Prejeans found out the hard way. In their case, a combination of a few termites, some water, and the two little words “as is,” led to a massive headache and loss of money when they purchased a home in Houma, Louisiana. 
Borrowed employees are workers assigned by their employer to work for companies borrowing their services on a short-term basis. Normally, employees hurt on the job may recover money in addition to worker’s compensation benefits from their employing companies. As the following case from the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal demonstrates, borrowed employees can only recover worker’s compensation against companies that borrow their services.
Imagine you go to a hospital for a medical emergency such as leg weakness, back pain, and paresthesia. While you are at the hospital, you feel that you are treated harshly and unprofessionally by the physician that examines you. Later, you find out that the physician wrote insulting things about you in your consultation report, which is now a part of your permanent medical record. This situation was a reality for Ms. Michelle Conner.