Louisiana Injury Lawyer Blog

Randy Piedrahita of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews completed an $800,000 settlement for a 51 year old man involved in a rear-end collision and who suffered aggravation of a pre-existing spine condition. As a result of the car wreck, plaintiff underwent spinal surgery on disks that had been symptomatic for years but worsened by the wreck. Plaintiff was disabled from work for one year and potentially faced forced early medical retirement due to the surgery. Plaintiff incurred $213,000 in medical bills. The defendants contested causation of injuries, especially whether several previous accidents necessitated the surgery.

Recently, Kirk Guidry and Randy Piedrahita of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana maritime law firm of Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews, obtained one of the largest (if not the largest) settlements for a paraplegic in Louisiana history. In Wooley v. Longnecker, No. 106577E, 17th JDC, Parish of Lafourche, Mr. Wooley was injured when a load shifted on an offshore debris barge, crushing his spine at his midsection. Suit was filed against the numerous corporations in charge of the offshore project, who blamed each other and Mr. Wooley for his injuries. Shortly before trial, Kirk and Randy negotiated a $15,000,000.00 settlement for Mr. Wooley, a substantial amount for an injury of this tragic nature.

On March 19, 2010, an Iowa jury returned a $32.8 million verdict in favor of Ivon Toe, Assata Karlar and five passengers in a 1997 Chrysler minivan that rolled over after sustaining a tire tread separation on the rear mounted Cooper Tire. Ivon Toe was rendered quadriplegic and Assata Karla suffered a wrongful death. Part of the jury verdict included punitive damages assessed against Cooper Tire. The plaintiffs' attorneys relied on Cooper Tire's delay for years in making needed changes to its tires despite Cooper Tire documents wherein Cooper Tire executives discussed tire failure rates and the cost of remediation. Cooper Tire claims its tires, including the tire involved in the Toe case, "are safe and reliable, exceeding not only all government standards but also our own, more rigorous, internal standards." Cooper Tire says it will appeal the jury's verdict. The case is Toe v. Cooper Tire and Rubber, CL 10694, Iowa District Court, Polk County (Des Moines).

Continue reading "Cooper Tire Tread Separation Results in $32.8 Million Jury Verdict for Rollover Accident Resulting in Quadriplegia and Wrongful Death" »

Louisiana's Traumatic Head Injury or Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund provides services to Louisiana citizens who survive traumatic head or traumatic spinal cord injuries, and who have exhausted all other governmental and private resources. Individual services are limited to $15,000 per year, with a cap of $50,000 over the individual's lifetime. Services include evaluations, post-acute medical care rehabilitation, therapies, medication, attendant care, equipment necessary for activities of daily living, and other goods and services deemed appropriate and necessary. Baton Rouge, Louisiana brain injury and spinal cord injury attorney, Scott Andrews, suggests that eligible individuals immediately contact the Traumatic Head Injury or Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund office for more information and to be placed on the waiting list for available services, since it could take several years to become a trust fund beneficiary for this first come first served program.

Continue reading "Louisiana Head Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Victims May Be Eligible for Assistance" »