Legal•Info

Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer

Call (888) 471-5989 to speak with a personal injury attorney.

If you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of another party, you may be entitled to damages. The field of personal injury law is meant to protect people from others' negligence, breach of duty and malpractice. Personal injury cases can include but are not limited to medical malpractice, toxic substance exposure, slander, assault, auto accidents, defective product injuries, workers' compensation injuries or accidents, and slip-and-fall injuries. The broader area of law under which these cases fall is called tort law.

A personal injury is defined as an injury to the emotions, mind, or body, which differentiates it from an injury to a piece of property. In a personal injury lawsuit, the plaintiff will attempt to prove that he or she has been injured due to another person's carelessness or negligence. There are many different types of personal injuries: tripping accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, assault claims, dog bites, accidents at work or in the home, medical and dental accidents, and defective product accidents. A personal injury is not limited to accidents, however, but can also include industrial disease cases. These include occupational stress, contact dermatitis, mesothelioma and asbestosis, other chest diseases, and repetitive strain injuries.

If you have been injured in one of these types of accidents, a personal injury attorney can review your case and advise you as to whether or not you sue for damages. The state of Louisiana has a one-year statute of limitations, which means that you have one year from the date of the injury to file suit against the responsible party. That's why it's important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after your accident. Injuries which may not manifest right away, such as toxic exposure illnesses, fall under an exception to the statute of limitations called the Discovery Rule, which means that you may still be able to bring suit against a negligent party beyond the one-year limit. Contact an attorney to find out if the cause of your injury, illness or accident is actionable.

When you decide to hire an attorney, you improve the chance that your case will have a successful outcome. Your attorney should be a member in good standing of the Louisiana Bar Association and the American Bar Association. You can request a consultation even if you're in the hospital or too injured to travel from home.

In a recent personal injury case in Louisiana, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Citgo petroleum Corporation's refinery $169,000 for failing to protect its employees from hazardous working conditions. They failed to follow federal safety requirements and had 12 citations against them for serious violations.

Most personal injury attorneys will take your case on contingency, which means that you pay nothing unless they win your case. The attorney will then take a percentage of your award. They can help you find doctors who will wait for payment and medical experts to testify on your behalf. Furthermore, the attorney will negotiate a settlement or represent you in court, after building the strongest case possible to establish negligence on the part of the company, person or group that was responsible for your injury or accident. In this way, a personal injury attorney can help maximize the compensation and make sure that you get everything to which you are entitled.

It's important to be comfortable with your lawyer, as they should alleviate a lot of the stress that is associated with a personal injury and finances. You can focus on your recovery while they focus on getting you what is owed.