Louisiana Injury Lawyer Blog

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews was selected for first tier (those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the highest scoring firms) inclusion in the 2010 inaugural rankings of U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms", in the practice areas of Personal Injury Plaintiffs and Product Liability Plaintiffs. "The selection involved surveying thousands of law firm clients; leading lawyers and law firm managers; partners and associates; and marketing officers and recruiting officers. Each were asked what factors they considered vital for clients hiring law firms, for lawyers choosing a firm to refer a legal matter to, and for lawyers seeking employment."

"Client and lawyer surveys collected mostly reputational data. Using a scale of 1 (weakest) to 5 (strongest), clients voted on expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether they would refer another client to a firm. Lawyers voted on expertise, responsiveness, integrity, cost-effectiveness, and whether they would refer a matter to a firm and whether they consider a firm a worthy competitor."

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" »

A Tickfaw, Louisiana woman was killed on January 12, 2010 on I-12 in Hammond, Louisiana, when her 2004 Mercury Mountaineer sustained a rear left tire blowout, causing the SUV to roll over several times. The cause of the tire blowout is unknown at this time. It could have been caused by impact damage, excessive wear, or improper installation, inflation or maintenance. Or, many SUV rollover and tire blowout accidents are actually caused by product defects in the SUV and tire. In order to properly investigate the potential product defects in the SUV and tire, the SUV and tire must be preserved for testing.

Common tire defects include a lack of an adequate antidegradant and antioxidant package; inadequate adhesion in the tread belt system; lack of or insufficient belt edge wedges or "gum strips"; a thin inner liner that allows air to leak into the carcass of the tire; and lack of nylon overlays or cap plies. Correction of these common tire defects can prevent catastrophic tread belt separation that lead to tire blowout. Additionally, some SUVs are improperly designed and manufactured with defective handling characteristics; with a roof structure that does not maintain structural integrity in a rollover; with an extremely high center of gravity which results in a propensity to roll over; and with a suspension designed and manufactured in such a manner as to allow the rear end of the vehicle to skate under foreseeable circumstances, resulting in a propensity to overturn. Some SUV manufacturers have even allowed and approved the installation of larger size tires than the vehicle was designed for, thereby increasing the vehicle's center of gravity and the potential for SUV rollover, and required a substandard inflation pressure for the SUV's tires.

Continue reading "Tire Blowout in Hammond, Louisiana Results in SUV Rollover Death" »

Two adults and thirteen children were riding in a mini-van on Interstate 10 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, around mid-night on November 28, 2009, when a tire blew out, causing the mini-van to strike a box truck in the adjacent lane. The mini-van rolled over several times, ejecting the thirteen unrestrained children. The driver and five of the children are confirmed dead.

This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts and prayers go out to the families of all involved. If the Ford/Firestone rollover/blow-out litigation taught us anything, it is that tire blow-outs and vehicle roll-overs are a dangerous, and often fatal, combination. A properly designed and manufactured tire should not blow-out unless the tire suffers impact damage or has been improperly installed, inflated or maintained. And, a vehicle that sustains a tire blow-out should not rollover under expected and reasonable evasive maneuvers. Any time a tire-blow occurs and a death or serious injury occurs, the tire and vehicle should be preserved so that failure analysis can be conducted. Without the tire and vehicle, it is virtually impossible to determine the cause of the blow-out and rollover, and any legal rights the victims might have against the tire and vehicle manufacturer may be lost.

Continue reading "Six Dead and Nine Injured After Tire Blow-Out and Rollover in Ascension Parish, Louisiana" »

Kirk Guidry and Scott Andrews settled a product liability case involving multiple burn injuries and deaths from a fuel-fed fire for a confidential amount. On August 6, 2002, five passengers were severely burned and two of them died from their severe burn injuries after their 2000 Chrysler/Plymouth Grand Voyager mini van (NS body 1996-2000) climbed upon and straddled a metal guard rail on Interstate 55 (I-55) in Kentwood, Louisiana, after sustaining a tire blow-out. A metal I-beam supporting the guard rail sliced the mini van's unprotected high density polyethylene fuel tank which was located forward of the rear axle.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana burn injury lawyers at Due', Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews brought a product liability action under the Louisiana Products Liability Act, La. La.R.S. 9:2800.51, et seq., against the mini van's manufacturer, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, alleging that the numerous skid plates, metal shields and other protective devices used on many all wheel drive vehicles and most SUVs are designed to prevent fuel tank puncture from guard rails, road debris, curbs, sign posts, etc., and were capable of preventing the fuel-fed fire that caused plaintiffs' injuries, and therefore should have been incorporated into the design of the mini van's fuel system. A claim was also brought against the State of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development for the unreasonably dangerous condition of the metal I-beams supporting the guard rail.

Continue reading "Baton Rouge, Louisiana Burn Injury Lawyers Settle Fuel Tank Shielding Case" »