Personal Injury

What's The Difference Between 'Fault' And 'Liability?'

November 11, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

Two people were seriously injured in a truck wreck in Iberia Parish, and legal responsibility is unclear even though the fault seems clear cut.
According to state troopers, a passenger vehicle carrying three people crossed from the westbound to the eastbound side of Louisiana Highway 14 near the U.S. Highway 90 interchange. The car then hit the front wheels of a sugar cane truck before it careened into the rear wheels, causing the truck to flip over. All three people inside the car were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries; the other driver was not injured in the truck wreck. [Read more…] about What's The Difference Between 'Fault' And 'Liability?'

3 Steps To Settling Cases On Favorable Terms

November 8, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

Almost all personal injury cases — upwards of 90 percent, in most jurisdictions — settle before trial, and many of these cases settle before a lawsuit is even filed. In most cases, the insurance company must present a reasonable settlement offer within thirty days, if liability is relatively clear. However, there are many loopholes in this standard, and the settlement process can sometimes last for months or even longer.
As a rule of thumb, a personal injury case is ripe for settlement once medical treatment is either entirely or substantially complete. How can an attorney maximize compensation in these situations?
Step One: Gather Evidence
The plaintiff has the burden of proof in personal injury matters, so plaintiff must present evidence to support his or her claims. Some of this evidence comes from eyewitnesses. They can be people that an attorney interviews later or that first responders contacted at the scene. It is important to talk to as many potential witnesses as possible, because typically, only a handful agree to give testimony at trial.
Eyewitnesses are often biased, at least to a certain extent; moreover, many eyewitnesses only saw part of the personal injury incident. To bolster eyewitnesses, attorneys turn to physical evidence, including:

Skidmarks: These marks on the road give clues about velocity, braking, steering angle, and other vital information.
Photographs: Pictures of both property damage and personal injury wounds give the attorney a better idea of how the crash occurred and are also very helpful to the jury.
EDR: The Event Data Recorder automatically captures operational data, much like the “black box” flight recorders on airplanes.

Since memories fade, vehicle traffic rubs skidmarks away, pictures get misplaced, and the vehicle is usually destroyed a few days after the incident, a personal injury attorney must get to work quickly to preserve this evidence.
Step Two: Legal Theories
To establish first party liability, the tortfeasor (negligent driver) must either violate a safety statute, like DUI, or otherwise violate the duty of reasonable care. Such breach (violation) must cause physical damages, like lost wages or medical bills. Victims are also entitled to compensation for their noneconomic damages, like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment in life. A third party liability theory, like negligent entrustment, may be available as well, and these third party theories are particularly important if the tortfeasor was uninsured or under-insured.
It is also important to anticipate what legal theories the insurance company might use to reduce or deny compensation to the personal injury victim.

Step Three: Negotiation
Before settlement negotiations begin, an attorney must calculate the personal injury case’s settlement value. This calculation is partially based on the objective numbers in the case, such as the amount of medical bills, and partly based on a subjective analysis, e.g. the amount of damages that a jury in that parish would likely award in such cases. As in all other situations, personal injury negotiations nearly always require some give and take, if a resolution is to be achieved.
T-Claude Devall and the other experienced Lake Charles personal injury attorneys at Hoffoss Devall are committed to maximum compensation for victims. Contact us today for a free consultation.

The Long Road Back, Episode II

November 2, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

A young man we first profiled earlier this summer continues to make slow but steady progress as he recovers from a serious brain injury.
Doctors did not expect Luke Burnham to recover after a car hit him and threw him thirty feet in the air. Mr. Burnham arrived minimally conscious at a Houston hospital with crushed bones and a serious brain injury. About a month later, specialists recall that he could finally move his left hand. A short time later, doctors put Mr. Burnham on a self-pedaling bike, and his recovery started to gain momentum. Doctors released him from the hospital so he could begin classes this fall for his senior year at St. Louis Catholic High School, where he is now an honor roll student. Mr. Burnham’s short-term goal is to be free of his wheelchair in time to walk across the stage this coming spring; after graduation, he wants to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. [Read more…] about The Long Road Back, Episode II

Survey: Drunk Drivers Abound On Area Roads

October 24, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

Lafayette ranked second on a list of the 100 cities with the most fatal alcohol-related crashes; Shreveport was no. 39, New Orleans was no. 40, and Lake Charles was no. 47.
Last year, eight of the thirteen fatal vehicle collisions in Lafayette were alcohol-related. That 61.5 percent mark was second only to Cape Coral, Florida (70 percent). Moreover, the per capita death rate in Lafayette (0.627) was more than twice as high as the rate in number three Providence, R.I.. Most of the cities on the list, like Lafayette, have populations under 200,000 and are not in urban areas. Study authors theorize that such communities have a higher number of impaired drivers, because of less-developed public transportation, as well as hospitals that are generally smaller and have fewer resources than the ones in big cities. [Read more…] about Survey: Drunk Drivers Abound On Area Roads

Sooner State Stands Up For Injured Workers

October 7, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

Neighboring Texas is the only remaining state that allows employer to opt out of the workers’ compensation system after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that such a system upset the so-called Grand Bargain.
Three years ago, large retailers and other large employers convinced Oklahoma lawmakers to pass a law that allowed them to self-insure against workplace injuries; after a successful push in the Sooner State, advocates introduced similar bills in Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and several other states as part of a nationwide push to effectively dismantle the workers’ compensation system. But the tables started to turn when a national media outlet published a study that opt-out plans meant substantially lower benefits for injured workers. Next, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a rather arcane attorneys’ fee structure was unconstitutional, and the move is expected to give injured workers more options. Earlier this year, Oklahoma’s highest court struck down a provision that sharply curtailed benefits for permanently disabled workers. [Read more…] about Sooner State Stands Up For Injured Workers

Two Dead After Speeding Car Slams Into School Bus

September 28, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

A high-speed car wreck in Shongaloo transformed a vehicle into a twisted piece of metal and sent two area residents to the morgue.
According to the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Freddy Bryant, of Shongaloo, evidently lost control of his fast-moving 2006 Toyota Corolla on State Highway 2 and crossed over the center line. The vehicle then careened into a school bus carrying mostly pre-kindergarten through second grade students; the driver – 67-year-old Michael Timmons of Sarepta – was unable to avoid the car wreck. Mr. Bryant and a passenger – 29-year-old Gary Matlock of Plain Dealing – were both pronounced dead at the scene.
None of the forty-eight people on board the bus (the driver and forty-seven students) were seriously injured. [Read more…] about Two Dead After Speeding Car Slams Into School Bus