Archive for May, 2008

Settlements Can Be Painful

May 28th, 2008 | Posted in Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

The Times Picaynue is reporting about the dissatisfaction of some folk who are plaintiffs in the case against ExxonMobil (and other big oil companies) for contaminating land near the Harvey Canal … and it is just one more example about how settlements rarely make anyone really happy.

Settlements resolve disputes by way of compromise.  No one goes away from the table a clear winner because everyone has had to give something up in order to get the deal done and move forward in life. 

Take these plaintiffs:  this huge settlement amount has to be distributed among many, many families and the way that’s being done is through a point system.  More points, more dollars.   This means that those with only a few points, or just one point, are getting very little cash for their exposure to contaminated land that may result in cancers, miscarriages, etc. and they are not happy about this. 

Would you be, if you’re offered less than 1000 bucks in a $1 billion jury verdict than later got reduced by the appeals court to a $112 million dollar award? 

Still, it’s the risk you take in these big suits — and it’s a sad but true commentary on how some professionals view these cases: it’s a numbers game.  Before you get too mad at the lawyers, look at the insurance company actuaries: your own life insurance coverage is based upon the same game.  Points are assigned, premiums are set.

Driving Drunk Can Mean More Than Just a DUI Charge

May 21st, 2008 | Posted in Courts, DUI/DWI, Local Issues, Traffic by bloom | No Comments »

For most folk, when you think about drunk driving the worst case scenario is seeing those flashing red lights behind you, and knowing that you’re about to be taken down to jail with your license being at risk, your money being taken in fines, and maybe even some jail time or community service.  All very bad news, of course.

But it might not stop there.  If you hurt someone when you are operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content that’s over the state’s legal limit, then you’re facing criminal charges for that harm, as well.

Take the case of Darren Yax.  Darren was giving Heather Habisreitinger a ride on the back of his Kawasaki motorcycle last December – about a week before Christmas – when he crashed into a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection.  Heather went flying, and died as a result of the traffic accident. 

Darren’s BAC was tested at .10, over the legal limit.

Yesterday, the grand jury indicted Darren Yax for vehicular homicide in the death of  Heather Habisreitinger, and he’s facing a minimum of 5 years (maximum of 30) incarceration if convicted.  

Cruise Line Death – Mindy Jordan Is Another Cruise Mystery

May 14th, 2008 | Posted in National Issues, Personal Injury by bloom | No Comments »

The news stories are filled with the mystery surrounding nurse Mindy Jordan’s cruise vacation over Mother’s Day weekend:  she’s missing, and it’s being reported that she fell into the ocean while trying to climb from one balcony to another (her cabin was on the 9th deck of a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, sailing to Bermuda).  Jordan’s mother has told reporters that she is certain that foul play was involved — her boyfriend says they were just “clowning around” when she fell over the railing.  Mind you, she was under 5 feet tall, weighed less than 100 lbs. and it was storming at the time this happened. 

 BloomLegal once again warns cruise line vacationers about the risks that this case exposes once again:  there are no policing authorities aboard ship, making evidence collection – and preservation – very difficult, and the laws that apply to cruise vacations are not always going to be American.  Missing passengers on cruise vacations are far from uncommon, just check the stories at HelpFindTheMissing.Org – where lots of passengers leave eyewitness accounts on what they saw, and when.

CruiseNews reports that Bermuda’s police as well as the FBI are waiting in Bermuda to become involved in Mindy Jordan’s case — NO official investigation has started yet.  That’s right:  nothing will be done from around 8 o’clock on Sunday night until the ship docks in Bermuda – it’s Wednesday afternoon, and they’re not there yet (the Coast Guard held the ship while a search and rescue effort was begun for Mindy). 

CruiseBruise keeps an online list of those individuals who have mysteriously died while on a cruise.  Their list is kept by cruise line, and Norwegian shows Mindy Jordan as as “missing passenger” and reports an overboard passenger in 2006, Belinda Clarke. The link also provides the stories behind these reports:  in Clarke’s case, fellow passengers report that there were rumors that she had intentionally jumped; her cabin was sealed off and the FBI searched it after the ship returned to US waters. 

CruiseBruise is reporting that in Mindy Jordan’s case, the Coast Guard is still searching the waters for her, and the FBI is waiting to board the ship in Bermuda.  Her boyfriend, who shared the cabin with her, has reportedly told Jordan’s family and the authorities that Jordan was trying to climb from one balcony to another when she slipped and fell into the water.  CruiseBruise points out that she would have been doing this while the ship was pounded with heavy rains and winds – weather conditions that continue today, making the search efforts difficult.   

For more information:

Bloom Legal on the Dangers of Cruise Lines 

Bloom Legal on 5 Things to Know Before Taking a Cruise Vacation

Bloom Legal on Cruise Vacation Risks that Are Not Being Reported

Did Mayor of Mandeville Get Special Treatment on DUI?

May 7th, 2008 | Posted in DUI/DWI, Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | No Comments »

Today’s Times-Picayune has a nice, big story about Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price driving his SUV (a Ford Expedition owned by the city, by the way) into a toll booth barrier a little before midnight on April 22nd — Price then drove about three more miles down the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway before the police pulled him over.  One more thing: he was driving with his headlights off. 

And, according to the newspaper account, what happened then? 

No citation, no field sobriety test, no checking the inside of the vehicle.  Price apparently told the two officers that he’d just had a “couple of drinks,” they didn’t see him weaving around or slurring his words, so they let him go  – although they wouldn’t let him drive, they made him call a relative to come and get him. 

By now, the s*%^ has hit the fan — there’s an internal investigation at the department, Price has been ticketed (for careless operation of a motor vehicle) and the Times-Picaynue is all over this story like a duck on a junebug.   

This story should sounds like something worth watching … and an interesting comparison to make for those not in the public eye, pulled over along that same stretch of road – if they say they’ve only had a couple of drinks, and they don’t obviously weave or slur their words, should they get to call home for a driver without any field sobriety testing, too?  Sure sounds like an argument to be made ….

For more information:

BloomLegal Talks About Field Sobriety Tests

BloomLegal Talks About Terry Stops – When Cops Can Search Your Car

BloomLegal Talks About DUIs in Louisiana – Being Pulled Over, DUI on Your Record

Available 24/7. Call 1-877-NOLATIX for immediate help.