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I recently purchased a Harley Davidson Soft-Tail Fat Boy motorcycle, and was quick to purchase a DOT compliant helmet because motorcycle accidents are a leading cause of head injuries and because helmets save lives. In fact, NHTSA “estimates that helmets saved 1,829 lives in 2008, and that 823 more could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.” Of the 5,290 motorcyclist who were killed in the United States in 2008, 76 were in Louisiana, with 41% of the dead motorcyclists not wearing a helmet. Don’t be a statistic. Wear a helmet.

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Shortly before midnight on January 6, 2011, a 65 year old California man was struck by an 18 Wheeler on Interstate 20 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, as he exited the driver’s side of his parked vehicle.

Parking on the shoulder of a busy highway is extremely dangerous and should be avoided unless there is a serious emergency and parking on the shoulder is unavoidable. In that instance, one should consider exiting the vehicle on the side away from the highway to avoid walking into the path of another vehicle.
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The jury is not required to disregard testimony merely because the witness may be interested or biased. It is within the province of the trier of fact to place more probative value on the testimony of an interested witness than that of a disinterested witness. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840, 848 (La.1989).

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An Oakdale, Louisiana man was severely injured in a one vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 165 around Alexandria, Louisiana, on January 3, 2011. The man was traveling northbound on US 165 when he lost control of his SUV and exited the highway to the right before over steering to the left and colliding with a guardrail, and then traveling back to the right and rolling over.

It is believed that a medical condition may have played a role in the accident. If the Oakdale man had injured someone else in the wreck, he may have been able to assert momentary loss of consciousness as a defense to a claim against him.
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The Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal issued a News Release regarding fireworks safety issues this holiday season. Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning said, “Due to the fire hazard as well as the inherent risk of injury involved in fireworks, citizens are urged to use extreme caution when handling fireworks to ensure a safe, fire-free holiday”. “The few moments of pleasure consumer fireworks bring are not worth the risk of property loss, injury, or death”. “Avoid needless risks”. “When things go wrong, they go wrong very fast, and often with disastrous consequences.” “Permanent scarring, loss of vision, dismemberment – these are all too often the harsh realities of amateur fireworks use.”

The News Release reminds us that:

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), amateur firework usage endangers not only the users, but also bystanders and surrounding property and structures. Pyrotechnic devices ranging from sparklers to aerial rockets cause thousands of fires and serious injuries each year.

In recent years, fireworks have been one of the leading causes of injuries serious enough to require hospital emergency room treatment. Fireworks can result in severe burns, fractures, scars, lifelong disfigurement or even death. The thousands of serious injuries each year typically harm the eyes, head, or hands and are mostly reported in states, such as Louisiana, where fireworks are legal. Even sparklers, which are considered by many to be harmless, can reach temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees F.

The Louisiana Fire Marshal’s Office offers the following fireworks safety suggestions:

— Always read and follow the label directions carefully
— Always have a garden hose or water bucket nearby for medical emergencies and/or to douse spent or misfired fireworks.

— Adults should always supervise fireworks activity.

— Fireworks should be placed on a hard, smooth surface prior to ignition. NEVER light fireworks in your hand.

— Quickly light one firework at a time, and move away quickly after lighting.

— Never point or throw fireworks at people, pets, cars, or buildings
— Keep fireworks away from small children.

— Do not alter or make your own fireworks.

— After displays, never pick up fireworks that may be left over. Fireworks that have been ignited and fail to immediately explode or discharge can cause injury, as they may still be active. Children should always tell an adult if they find fireworks rather than picking up smoking or charred fireworks themselves.

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For the third time in four years, Louisiana’s largest medical malpractice insurer, LAMMICO (Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company) is issuing a large dividend of approximately $5.1 million to its Louisiana and Arkansas policyholders (including individual physicians and other health care professionals, groups & healthcare facilities). LAMMICO’s Louisiana doctors will get back 10 percent of their written premiums, bringing the total amount of premiums returned to around $25.5 million. So much for the medical malpractice crisis we keep hearing about!!!!

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My good friend and colleague, Ed Walters, recently revised his 1987 list of things Baton Rouge lawyers do not do for a Wex Malone Inn of Court meeting and for publication in the Baton Rouge Bar Association‘s December 2010 edition of the Around the Bar magazine. Ed’s article is entitled “from whence they came…redux” and includes this “UPDATED VERSION OF ED’S RULES”:

1. Baton Rouge lawyers don’t lie to each other or to the court.

2. A Baton Rouge lawyer will not default another lawyer when he has been notified that the other lawyer will be representing a party in a case.

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After teaching Insurance Law during the Fall 2010 semester at the Southern University Law Center (SULC), Baton Rouge, Louisiana product liability and personal injury lawyer, Scott Andrews, was selected to teach Product Liability at the Southern University Law Center during the Spring 2011 semester.

The Southern University Law Center is located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and provides opportunity to under-represented racial, ethnic, and economic groups.

Scott Andrews joins the faculty ranks of the senior member of the firm, Paul H. Dué, who previously taught at the Southern University Law Center, and the Of Counsel to the firm, David W. Robertson, who is the W. Page Keeton Chair in Tort Law at the University of Texas School of Law.

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By Act 75 of the 2010 Regular Legislative Session, Louisiana Revised Statute 9:2800.17 was enacted to provide as follows for liability for the diminution in the value of a damaged vehicle:

Whenever a motor vehicle is damaged through the negligence of a third-party without being destroyed, and if the owner can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that, if the vehicle were repaired to its preloss condition, its fair market value would be less than its value before it was damaged, the owner of the damaged vehicle shall be entitled to recover as additional damages an amount equal to the diminution in the value of the vehicle. Notwithstanding, the total damages recovered by the owner shall not exceed the fair market value of the vehicle prior to when it was damaged, and the amount paid for the diminution of value shall be considered in determining whether a vehicle is a total loss pursuant to R.S. 32:702.

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The Baton Rouge, Louisiana personal injury law firm of Dué Guidry Piedrahita Andrews Courrege L.C. 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.”