The plaintiff in this case, Suzanne Hammond, was the mother of Latousha Tillman and the grandmother of her stillborn child, Ladaizya Tillman. On March 31, 2004, Ms. Tillman arrived at the St. Francis Hospital emergency room complaining of pain, nausea, and vomiting. She was 25 years old and 23 weeks pregnant. Dr. Joiner treated her
Louisiana law requires all motor vehicle liability insurance policies to extend coverage not only to the insured, but also to any other person with express or implied permission to drive the motor vehicle. Once the insured gives permission, coverage will be denied only if the driver deviates from the permissive use. Consequently, at issue in
From the Courts of Equity of the England of yore to Louisiana’s Third Circuit, fairness is and has been for a long time an essential component of the law. Civil concepts of fairness still exist today, especially in Louisiana courts dedicated to making whole the victim of a crime. Edward Signal, like many injury victims,
When a caller dials 911 to report an emergency, it is not uncommon for the operator to transfer the caller to the local service provider that is best suited to respond to the incident. For instance, a caller who reports an auto accident can expect to be connected with the nearest ambulance service. In the
The term “venue” refers to the particular court where a plaintiff should file his suit. In the case of car accidents and other tort actions, the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure gives the plaintiff a choice of venue. The plaintiff can file the suit in the parish where the accident occurred or, alternatively, in the
As discussed previously on this blog, the primary duty of Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is to maintain the public roadways in a condition that is reasonably safe and which does not present an unreasonable risk of harm to motorists who exercise ordinary care. As outlined in this recent post, a plaintiff must
A midnight collision with a horse on I-20 in Madison Parish led to a massive jury award, only for the Louisiana Second Circuit to reverse it. The case of Schysm v. Boyd is a cautionary tale for injury victims: while the owner of the horse may be liable, holding the state (DOTD) responsible for ‘fencing
The Third Circuit Court of Appeal for the State of Louisiana affirmed a Calcasieu Parish court’s decision to grant the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for injuries she sustained when her electric grocery cart allegedly malfunctioned while she was grocery shopping. In considering a motion for summary judgment, a
Previously on this blog, we examined the concept of a “substitute vehicle” for purposes of extending insurance coverage for an auto that is used only temporarily and in place of a policyholder’s usual car. In this situation, the insurer is required by state law to extend the same coverage to the substitute car as was
In the Parish of Acadia, the Third Circuit Court of Appeal decided a case that clarifies how punitive damage awards are to be applied to vicarious liability cases. In Bonnie Romero v. Clarendon America, Bonnie Romero (plaintiff) was hit by an 18 wheeler truck. The truck was driven by an employee of Stanford Trucking (Stanford).
Jeffrey Berniard is a specialized injury attorney with over 21 years of experience fighting for Louisiana families.