Louisiana Injury Lawyer Blog

On December 22, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that approximately 8,500 Polaris All-Terrain Vehicles (Sportsman ATVs) manufactured between January and August 2009 and sold between February 2009 through November 2009 were voluntarily recalled by Polaris Industries, Inc. . Polaris has received 19 reports of incidents involving the loss of steering control in the 2009-2010 Sportsman ATVs after the front suspension ball joint stem separated from the steering knuckle. The following models are included in the recall:

2009 Sportsman XP 550
2009 Sportsman XP 550 EPS
2010 Sportsman 550
2010 Sportsman X2 550
2010 Sportsman Touring 550
2009/2010 Sportsman XP 850
2009/2010 Sportsman XP850 EPS
2010 Sportsman Touring 850

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns consumers to immediately stop using the recalled Polaris Sportsman ATVs and to contact their local Polaris dealer to determine if your model and VIN number are included in this recall and to schedule a free repair. Polaris is supposed to be directly contacting registered owners about the recall. For additional information about the Polaris ATV recall, you can contact Polaris at (888) 704-5290 or visit the company's Web site.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury attorney, Scott Andrews, warns consumers not to wait until after the hunting season to get their recalled Polaris ATV repaired because the risk of injury and death is too great: "I have had numerous clients over the years call me after being injured by a defective recalled product and they tell me that they received notice of the recall, but had not gotten the defective product repaired yet when the accident happened. Return the product or get it repaired--do not use the defective product."

Continue reading "Louisiana Sportsmen Beware: Steering Defect Hazard Prompts Recall of Polaris All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)" »

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, voluntarily recalled approximately 204,000 Tool Bench Utility Knives sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Greenbacks and Deal$ stores nationwide between April 2009 and October 2009. While Dollar Tree has only received one complaint of injury, the utility knife's blade can slide past the blade support during use, posing a laceration hazard to users. Therefore, users should stop using recalled knives immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund.

The recalled utility knives were made in China and distributed by Greenbriar International, Inc. The knife is black or gray and is about 6 inches long and 1 ¼ inches wide. The package includes an extra blade. "Tool Bench Utility Knife" is printed on the front of the product's packaging. "975942," date code "93" and "UPC 639277759429" are printed on the back of the packaging.

Contact Dollar Tree Stores for additional information.

Continue reading "$1 Utility Knives Sold in Louisiana Recalled by Dollar Tree Due to Laceration Hazard" »

The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, in an opinion not designated for publication, reaffirmed that once a party has been dismissed from the litigation by a summary judgment, that former party cannot be named on the verdict form and cannot have any percentage of fault attributed thereto.Quinn v. State of Louisiana, DOTD, 2009-0085 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/23/09). See also Bowie v. Young, 2001-0715 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/20/02), 813 So.2d 562, 569-570, writ denied, 2002-1079 (La.6/21/02), 819 So.2d 335; and Duzon v. Stallworth, 2001-1187 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/11/02), 866 So.2d 837, 853-854, writs denied, 2003-0589 (La. 5/2/03), 842 So.2d 1101, 1110 ("when the court determines that a party or nonparty is not negligent [is dismissed on summary judgment], he may not be considered in the allocation of fault, and subsequent evidence may not be admitted to establish his fault.").

This personal injury legal update is provided by Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury lawyer Scott Andrews of the Louisiana accident and injury law firm, Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Watts Regulator Company voluntary recalled about 900 one inch 140X-9 Temperature and Pressure Relief Valves sold through distributors nationwide from October 2006 through July 2009 for between $250 and $280. The valves were typically sold as replacement parts for large water heaters used in commercial locations and large homes. The relief valve can fail to reduce pressure and avert failure or rupture of the water heater tank and associated valves, posing rupture and burn hazard to consumers and their property. Consumers and users should immediately contact Watts Regulator to schedule a free repair or to obtain more information.

Continue reading "Rupture and Burn Hazards Prompt Recall of Temperature and Pressure Relief Valves for Large Water Heaters by Watts Regulator " »

Louisiana injury lawyer Scott Andrews, of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita and Andrews was certified elected as a 19th Judicial District Court delegate (2010-2012 term) to the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association. The House of Delegates is the policy making body of the Louisiana State Bar Association and controls the non-fiscal affairs of the LSBA. This is Scott Andrews's third consecutive elected term to the LSBA House of Delegates.

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana senior citizen was killed in a September 3, 2009 car accident on Jefferson Highway near its intersection with Airline Highway when she turned left into the path of an oncoming vehicle. It was initially presumed that the senior citizen was completely at fault in causing the accident, but further investigation revealed that the oncoming motorist was exceeding the posted speed limit. Because speed, and not the improper left turn, was determined to be the main factor in the car crash because the senior citizen would have been able to complete her turn if the oncoming motorist had been driving the speed limit, the speeding motorist was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of reckless operation of a vehicle and one count of negligent homicide.

According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, of the Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué, Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews, "all too often the investigating police officer assumes that when a car accident occurs involving a left turning motorist, that the left turning motorist must be at fault and no further investigation is conducted." Fortunately for the family of the senior citizen killed in the Jefferson Highway automobile accident, the police continued their investigation and uncovered the truth--that the auto accident was avoidable had the oncoming motorist been acting reasonably.

Continue reading "Left Turning Motorist Not at Fault for Causing Car Accident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana " »

The Proctor & Gamble Company voluntarily recalled approximately 700,000 Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps (UPC#: 3 23900 01087 1) sold nationwide in drug stores, grocery stores and other retail establishments between September 2008 and December 2009. The cold and flu medicine contains acetaminophen and is not in child-resistant packaging and lacks the statement, "This Package for Households Without Young Children," as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. The recalled Vicks Dayquil Liquicaps could cause serious health problems or death to a child if several of the capsules are swallowed. The recalled Vicks Dayquil Liquicaps should be kept out of the reach of children. Consumers and users should contact Procter & Gamble for more information.

Continue reading "Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu Liquicaps Recalled by Procter & Gamble Due To Failure to Meet Child-Resistant Closure Requirement " »

"The peculiar genius of the jury system is its reliance on the common sense and common experience of ordinary men and women to determine definitively much that cannot be known absolutely." Miller v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 578 F.2d 125 (5th.1978).

A Rottweiler dog attacked and killed a 20 month old boy in Florida while the boy was reaching for a cookie he had dropped on the ground.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, says "animal attacks occur too often and are usually by dogs trained to be vicious by their owners or by dogs that are not properly supervised by their owners." In Louisiana, damages caused by animals are governed by Louisiana Civil Code article 2321, which provides that the owner of a dog is "strictly liable for damages for injuries to person or property caused by the dog and which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person's provocation." The owners of all other animals in Louisiana are "answerable for the damage caused by the animal" upon a showing that the owner knew or should have known that his animal's behavior would cause damage, and that by the exercise of reasonable care, the damage could have been prevented.

Continue reading "Dog Attacks and Kills Child" »

Around 26,000 defective log splitters manufactured from November 2008 through October 2009 by MTD Products Inc. of Cleveland Ohio, have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. The reason for the recall is that the control handle of the log splitter could fail to automatically return to the neutral position as it should and could fail to stop the splitting wedge from moving forward, posing an amputation risk to a user's hands and fingers.

The recalled log splitters were sold at Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, Walmart, hardware stores and by independent dealers from November 2008 through October 2009. Go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website for a complete list of the log splitter brand names and model numbers included in the log splitter recall.

This is an especially bad time of the year in Louisiana for a defective log splitter to be in the stream of commerce. As a young boy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury attorney, Scott Andrews, has vivid recollections of splitting fire wood for the North Louisiana winters, and was especially excited when his father would come home with a log splitter to ease the work load. Scott Andrews reminds consumers to "stop using the recalled log splitters immediately and to contact the manufacturer for further instructions." Injury attorney Andrews also reminds injured consumers that if a finger is traumatically amputated, it can be reimplanted if the amputated finger is taken to the hospital in a timely and proper manner.

Continue reading "Recalled Log Splitters Pose Amputation Hazard" »

The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal held that an award for future medical expenses can be supported by testimony that future medical expenses will be required, even in the absence of any evidence as to the specific cost of such future treatment. It is proper for the trial court to determine future medical expenses on the basis of the record, past medical expenses, and other evidence. Since the plaintiff's past medical expenses exceeded $326,000, an award of $150,000 for future medical expenses was proper. Goza v. Parish of West Baton Rouge, 2008-0086 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/5/09), 21 So.3d 320, writ denied, 2009-2146 (La.12/11/09), citing Levy v. Bayou Indus. Maintenance Services, Inc., 03-0037 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/26/03), 855 So.2d 968, 975, writs denied, 03-3161, 03-3200 (La. 2/6/04), 865 So.2d 724, 727.

This personal injury legal update is provided by Baton Rouge, Louisiana injury lawyer Scott Andrews of the Louisiana accident and injury law firm, Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana attorney, Paul H. Due', was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America ® 2010 for the sixteenth straight year (1995-2010), this time in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation and Products Liability. (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). Inclusion in Best Lawyers ® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 32,000 attorneys cast almost two million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their specialties. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed for inclusion in Best Lawyers ®.

Continue reading "Baton Rouge, Louisiana Lawyer Selected Again for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America ®" »

Effective January 1, 2010, new minimum liability limits of 15-30-25 for automobile insurance will go into effect in the State of Louisiana. The minimum limits are currently 10-20-10. For auto insurance policies issued after January 1, 2010, victims of Louisiana car wrecks will have at least $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident in available bodily injury liability insurance available to compensate them for the injuries and damages caused by a Louisiana insured driver. Under Louisiana law, insurers are also required to offer underinsured and uninsured (UM) motorist bodily injury liability coverage to their insureds in the same amount as the bodily injury liability insurance.

Prior to the change in Louisiana law, Louisiana was one of only two states in the United States with minimum automobile bodily injury liability limits of 10-20-10, with the 48 other states having higher liability limits. Even with the improvement in Louisiana law, Louisiana is still one of only nine states with 15-30 or less in bodily injury liability limits. Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas all have minimum automobile bodily injury liability limits of 25-50-25. Hopefully, the Louisiana Legislature and Governor will see fit one day to place Louisiana accident victims on the same level of financial protection as the accident victims in our neighboring states. Until then, Louisiana will continue to rank at or near the bottom of yet another national list.

Continue reading "Minimum Automobile Bodily Injury Liability Policy Limits in Louisiana to Increase to 15-30-25" »

On December 7, 2009, an 18 wheeler tanker truck overturned on the I-49 on-ramp at U.S. Highway 190 in Opelousas, Louisiana. The tractor tanker reportedly leaked sodium hydroxide, which is a hazardous chemical that can cause burns on the skin. According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana truck accident attorney, Scott Andrews, accidents involving overturned tractor trailers on interstate on-ramps and off-ramps are usually "avoidable accidents." Tanker drivers must have a tank endorsement to operate a tanker, which endorsement is intended to ensure that the tanker operator has been trained in how to operate a tanker and its constantly shifting liquid contents. If the tractor tanker is operated in a safe manner and at a safe speed, the 18 wheeler should not overturn.

Fortunately, no one appears to have been harmed by the toxic and hazardous chemical reportedly spilled. Unfortunately, the truck driver and his employer may escape from any liability because no one was injured. Prior to the 1996 tort reform in Louisiana, operators of trucks transporting toxic and hazardous substances could be punished by awards of punitive or exemplary damages for their wanton and reckless conduct. Now, trucking companies that act in a wanton or reckless manner are no longer subject to punishment, and can only be held liable for the actual harm they cause.

Continue reading "Tanker Truck Overturns on I-49 in Opelousas, Louisiana" »

The family of a football player who suffered a brain injury in a football game one month after suffering a concussion settled their case against La Salle University for $7,500,000. The family claimed in their lawsuit that the earlier concussion made the football player more vulnerable to brain damage from another severe blow to the head.

Better training on proper tackling techniques and proper blocking have greatly reduced the number of paralyzing football injuries. However, there remains an enormous amount of controversy and disagreement over the seriousness of concussion injuries. Just this season, Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger went down with concussion injuries. Certainly, these three stars received the finest medical treatment available and did not return to play until it was neurologically safe to do so. However, many young men and women do not receive proper treatment and are pushed back onto the field by over zealous coaches before it is safe to return to full contact, and are unnecessarily exposed to a high risk of brain injury.

The Louisiana injury lawyers at Dué, Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews are no strangers to sports injury cases, having handled one of the most well-known reported sports injury cases in Louisiana-- Fox v. Board of Supervisors, involving a rugby player rendered quadriplegic after being allegedly improperly tackled by an opposing player.

Continue reading "Brain Damaged Football Player Reaches $7,500,000 Sports Injury Settlement" »

A twenty-one year old Franklinton man was killed December 2, 2009, on Louisiana Highway 1082 in Covington, Louisiana. The motorcycle rider reportedly was passing several cars when he encountered a 2005 Crown Victoria that was turning left onto Pat O'Brien Road. The Suzuki motorcycle and car collided and the motorcycle rider was thrown from his bike and died at the accident scene.

According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, 59 motorcycle crashes claimed 4 lives in St. Tammany Parish in 2008. For motorcycle riders, "the best offense is a good defense. Never pass at or near and intersection and always assume the other driver does not see you and your bike," says Scott Andrews of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana law firm of Dué, Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews. Attorney Scott Andrews rode a motorcycle in college and had more than his share of close calls with inattentive motorists and substandard highways. Scott Andrews reminds motorcycle riders to "always keep a look-out and drive safely."

Continue reading "Franklinton Man Killed in Covington, Louisiana Motorcycle Accident" »

Time-computation amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Appellate Procedure went into effect on December 1, 2009.

These amendments implement a consistent method of calculating time periods throughout the federal rules, a method that counts every day, instead of excluding weekends and holidays for some periods but not others. Most of the amendments lengthen time periods by a few days, to offset the effect of counting weekends and holidays and to express time periods of less than 30 days in 7-day multiples. Most of the periods either remain the same or are lengthened: 5-day periods become 7-day periods, and 10-day periods become 14-day periods.

Congress has enacted changes to 28 statutory time periods affecting court proceedings to be consistent with this new, simplified computation approach. The United States District Courts for the Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana and Eastern District of Louisiana revised their local rules to be consistent with the national rule and statutory changes.

Paul H. Due' and Donald W. Price of the Louisiana injury law firm of Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were selected for inclusion for the fourth year in 2010 Louisiana Super Lawyers in the field of Personal Injury-Plaintiff.

Louisiana Super Lawyers magazine has been published in Louisiana since 2007, and it lists attorneys in private practice, prosecutors, in-house counsel and public service. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. Attorneys are chosen for inclusion by a peer polling, research, and selection process that attempts to identify the top five percent of lawyers in each state. Congratulations Paul Due' and Donald Price!

Continue reading "Baton Rouge, Louisiana Attorneys Selected Again for Inclusion in Louisiana Super Lawyers" »