Archive for April, 2008

Covington Tragedy – Victim Not Wearing SeatBelt

April 30th, 2008 | Posted in Personal Injury, Traffic by bloom | No Comments »

Janice Gould died on the scene of a car crash yesterday, after her husband had some kind of medical event that precipitated his driving their SUV into an oncoming lane of IH12 where Janice’s side was hit by an oncoming Ford F-150.  The other two crash victims sustained only minor injuries.   

Janice wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.   

It’s true that the section of IH12 where this tragedy occurred is notorious for crossover crashes, and something needs to be done about this.

It’s also true that everyone traveling in a motor vehicle in the state of Louisiana is legally required to wear a seat belt.  

We’ll never know how Janice would be today if she’d been wearing her seatbelt — but from a legal standpoint, by not wearing one she was technically in violation of the law (even if she had just taken it off to help her husband, which we can guess but don’t know) and this single fact could be used in any resulting insurance claims or wrongful death lawsuits to suggest that she was the cause, in all or in part, of her own injuries.   Sad but true. 

And, as cold and callous as it may sound, insurance companies assert defenses like failure to wear a seatbelt all the time to limit or nullify the payment of claims out of insurance policy coverage. 

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NOLA’s Times Picayne Sues for Public Access to Crime Records

April 25th, 2008 | Posted in Courts, Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

Since Katrina, there hasn’t been access to crime information for locals like folk in other parts of the country get all the time.  For example, over in San Antonio, anyone interested in the number of crimes in their neighborhood just surfs over to a website provided by the city or calls the SAPD for details. 

Today, the NOLA Times Picayne got sick and tired of the whole mess and filed a lawsuit.  Looks like things will change pretty soon.  There’s a hearing set for May 23rd.

What about Privacy after an arrest?

Meanwhile, what if you are arrested and you’re rather not have your neighbors know about it?  What if your husband or son gets popped for a DUI during JazzFest, this isn’t something that you want everyone to know, right?

Well, relax.  The information doesn’t give out names and other identifying information, just that arrests have been made.  You’re still innocent until proven guilty – even if the gossips never seem to remember that, or think that way.�

LA House Bans Using CellPhones In Cars

April 23rd, 2008 | Posted in Legislation, Local Issues, Traffic by bloom | 1 Comment »

800px-celular_samsung.jpgThis week, a bill was passed in the Louisiana House of Representatives that bans talking on handheld cellphones (and text messaging) when you’re driving.  This isn’t law yet — it still has to meet with Senate approval.

Expert testimony from the Highway Safety Commission estimated that 2,282 car accidents with 10 fatalities were caused by wireless communications devices in 2006.  And, the proposed law’s author (Rep. Austin Badon from New Orleans) says it’s not that big a deal – for $9 you can get a gizmo that converts the handheld cellphone to hands-free in your car.

The law is controversial – and advocates for and against are rallying their followers to contact their state senators and let their opinions be heard.

What do the scientists report?  Well, studies have found drivers talking on cellphones up to 10 minutes before a car crash were 4 times more likely to be in an accident.  However, these numbers don’t change from using an handheld or a handsfree cellphone — according to the statistics, talking on the phone while driving ups the likelihood that you’ll be involved in a car accident fourfold — so does this proposal really solve the problem?  Shouldn’t the law ban talking on cellphones while driving, regardless of handheld or handsfree?

And, what do all this statistics and legislative arguments mean to a car accident victim?  Well, if you’ve got an attorney doing his homework, he might subpoena the cellphone records of the drivers, check their chattime for the 10 minutes prior to the car crash, and argue that this impacts the proximate cause — i.e., who is legally responsible for the accident and its insuing damages.�

FDA Approval Doesn’t Mean You’re Safe

April 9th, 2008 | Posted in National Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

The Food & Drug Administration is supposed to approve drugs as being safe for human consumption before they can be sold in the U.S. Marketplace.  This isn’t an ironclad guarantee these days — as demonstrated by the following products — and if you or a loved one have any concerns about a drug, trust that “gut instinct” and get help immediately.

1.  Heparin, a blood-thinner, can result in severe allergic reactions, impact blood pressure, and cause death – the FDA issued a new warning about the drug today.

2.  Exurbra, an insulin inhaler, can cause lung cancer and Pfizer issued its own product warning today on the drug, approved by the FDA in 2006.

3.  Johnson & Johnson is currently asking for a legal bar to any lawsuits asking damages from the company’s Ortho Evra birth control patch, because the FDA approved the patch in 2002 (and started issuing warnings in 2006). 

4.  GlaxoSmithKline has been accused of failing to give the FDA all pertinent studies regarding FDA-approved Avandia, a diabetes pill that can cause fatal heart attacks, in a letter the FDA posted online yesterday and which GlaxoSmithKline has already denied.

And, these are just four examples taken from today’s news.  Remember, your first step in protecting yourself and your loved ones is to get the necessary medical attention.  Your second step should be to learn your legal rights to such things as reimbursement for medical expenses, time off from work, pain and suffering, and other legally recognized damages — and what your deadline is to file these claims.  You do not have much time before your claim is barred by law.�

Deadlines to Filing Your Lawsuit: Absolute Bars to Your Claim

April 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Courts, Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

louisianastateseal.jpgIn Louisiana, you only get so much time to file your lawsuit.  If you miss this deadline, then it doesn’t matter how valid your claim is – or how horrible the evildoer defendant is, or how serious the injuries are, or even if there’s been a death due to someone’s bad acts:  you won’t have a valid legal case anymore.  You’ll be barred from pursuing your case because you missed the deadline. 

This means that as callous as it may sound, someone in the family needs to check on the legal issues before it’s too late.  In its own way, it is very compassionate in serious personal injury situations, for example, to investigate the victim’s legal redress – just as it is compassionate to help loved ones facing pain, suffering, and grief over loss in other loving and supportive ways. 

These deadlines can be very short  – check these out, which must all be filed within 1 year:

Wrongful Death
Must be filed within one year from the date of death.

Personal Injury
Must be filed within one year from the date of the injury.

Defective Product/Products Liability
Must be filed within one year after the date of the injury.

Medical Malpractice
Must be filed within one year of the date that the injury is discovered by the victim, OR one year from the date that the act giving rise to the injury occurred, and there’s an absolute bar:  all medical malpractice lawsuits have to be filed within 3 years from the date that the act giving rise to the injury occurred.

It Shouldn’t Cost You Anything to Check It Out

Here at BloomLegal, like many other law firms in the local area, initial consultations are free — so checking out legal rights as soon as possible shouldn’t cost a family member anything, and may well save the family’s claims from being time barred.  �
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