Case Results

Our client was a 31 year old single mother who was traveling I-12 west near the Essen Lane Overpass. As she approached the overpass, an 18-wheeler contacted and tore down a low hanging wire causing it to become entangled in her car and violently pulled her car sideways. The wire then snapped from it’s mounting on a pole and repeatedly whipped about eventually totaling her car.

It has happened to us all - car trouble. We do what we are supposed to do and move to the shoulder. We call for help and wait. While waiting, we watch drivers speeding past us. We trust they are considering our safety and that all will be fine until help arrives. We especially trust the professional drivers of big trucks to operate and control their vehicles in a manner that will keep us from harm.

Our client was a 28 yr old widow who had one child and was pregnant with another. Her husband had been in great physical shape, was active in sports, but did have a history of low back pain for which he was prescribed and took a specific medication. One evening, he awoke with bad chest pains and suddenly went into cardiac arrest. As our client was a registered nurse, she attempted CPR on her husband while awaiting for emergency medical responders. Unfortunately, the young man passed away.

 

In testimony she referred to it as a “muscle car”. So, it came as no surprise to us that when a young girl decided to execute a dangerous lane change, she lost control of her “muscle car” causing it to collide with a local family’s RV. Out of control on a wet surface, the Camaro slid at highway speed and slammed into our clients’ motorhome. One moment the motorhome is returning from a family outing, and the next moment it was sent into a violent spin, where it almost began flipping. While the Dad was able to get the motorhome under control, his wife was thrown around the interior of the motor home.

 

Our client was a law enforcement officer who responded to a traffic accident on I-12. As EMS responders provided aid to the victims, the officer began directing traffic through the accident scene and into an open lane of travel. It was a rainy dark evening and the officer had his yellow reflective suit on and was holding his flashlight to direct traffic.

A local retailer built a store on a lot that was originally planned for office complexes. Because the lot was much larger than the retailer needed, the retailer developed a portion of the property as a park-like, green space. Knowing their customers, local residents, employees of neighboring businesses, and others would frequently walk through this green space, the retailer kept the area mowed and well landscaped. The retailer trained its managers and employees that the green space must be part of their daily safety inspection to insure no hazardous conditions existed on the property. This was to protect anyone and everyone who may walk in the area.

The most troubling part of helping a client is often dealing with the blatant lie of a driver who chooses to not obey safety rules. In this case, the driver of a large moving truck chose to be distracted as he attempted to merge onto the Mississippi River Bridge in Port Allen. In doing so, he failed to see that congestion had brought traffic to a complete stop. His attention being elsewhere, he violently crashed into our client.

Some drivers are trusted more than others. Some drivers are given the training to understand their vehicle and their cargo have a greater degree of harm to the public than others. Drivers transporting hazardous and flammable compressed gases are within this category. Due to the explosive nature of the gases, these professional drivers are trained in strict adherence of Federal and State safety regulations.

Our client is a 66 year old active duty Louisiana State Trooper. He enjoys a 46 year marriage, of which has given him 4 children and 7 grandchildren. On this day, he was a back seat passenger in his daughter’s SUV with a grandchild on both his left and his right. The SUV was not equipped with a middle seat head restraint. Our client’s vehicle was at a complete stop on a typical two way highway in Livingston Parish when it was struck from behind by a commercial paint van carrying near minimal auto coverage.

Our client is a 66 year old active duty Louisiana State Trooper. He enjoys a 46 year marriage, of which has given him 4 children and 7 grandchildren. On this day, he was a back seat passenger in his daughter’s SUV with a grandchild on both his left and his right. The SUV was not equipped with a middle seat head restraint. Our client’s vehicle was at a complete stop on a typical two way highway in Livingston Parish when it was struck from behind by a commercial paint van carrying near minimal auto coverage.

After a rear-end car collision our client immediately felt neck and low back pain requiring an ambulance ride to the ER. Our client reported this pain caused her some degree of occasional instability in her legs, resulting in a total of three (3) falls subsequent to the collision. Two of the falls were shortly after the collision and prior to any diagnostic testing. Despite this “instability” our client told her doctors the first fall was a “slip” in her shower, the second fall was a “slip” in mud in her backyard, and her third fall was a “slip” in spilled water on her kitchen floor. About two years after her falls and two years before her surgeries our client was involved in an at-fault crash.

Our client was stopped for a red light. Another driver chose to become distracted and assumed forward traffic had begun to move. The distracted driver proceeded forward and rear-ended our client at approximately 5-10 mph. There was no crush damage to the her vehicle. The next day our client began to experience severe pain in her neck and back. Finding no relief from conservative chiropractic care, our client was referred to an orthopedic doctor who discovered she had seriously damaged a disc in her cervical spine.

Our client was a 39 year old single father. He left work for the evening and was driving home along Hwy 3089 in Ascension Parish. Shortly before he approached the intersection of Marchand Drive and St. Patrick, he moved to the right hand lane. As he approached the intersection he saw the light change from green to yellow and began slowing to stop in anticipation of the red light. As our client slowed to a stop, he was unexpectedly slammed into from the rear by a large truck. Our client was propelled through the intersection and eventually came to a stop on the median.