Caddo Parish Personal Injury Lawyer
Some accidents are nobody’s fault. But when an accident is the result of negligence, the victims have a legal right to seek compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit. At Rice & Kendig, LLC, our Caddo Parish personal injury lawyers help all types of victims, from those injured in car accidents to nursing home residents suffering from abuse and neglect. We can represent you in dealing with negligent parties–and their insurance companies–in obtaining fair compensation for your damages.
Proving Negligence in Louisiana
Personal injury cases are based on allegations of negligence. In simple terms, this means that someone owed you a legal duty, they breached that duty, and in doing so they caused you some injury and loss. For example, if a driver runs a red light and plows into the side of your car, that is clearly a violation of the driver’s duty to safely operate their vehicle and obey traffic laws. You are therefore entitled to seek compensation for any personal injury you sustained in the collision, as well as any physical damage done to your car.
Louisiana also follows a “comparative fault” rule in personal injury cases. What this means is that a judge or jury will look at the potential fault of everyone involved in a given accident, including you. If the court decides that you were partially to blame–as expressed by a percentage–then your compensation is reduced accordingly. Fortunately, even if you are found to be mostly at fault, a negligent defendant can still be ordered to pay you something.
An experienced attorney understands how comparative fault can affect a personal injury case and why it is important to conduct a thorough pre-lawsuit investigation to ascertain all of the possible underlying causes of a given accident.
State Law Can Make It More Difficult to Recover Damages
Louisiana’s legal system famously puts a number of roadblocks in front of personal injury plaintiffs. First, there is a strict one-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. This means that if you are injured in an accident, you have just 1 year to either file a lawsuit or forfeit your right to seek compensation.
Second, Louisiana does not afford you the right to ask for a jury trial unless the amount of damages sought exceeds $50,000. As a result, many smaller personal injury claims are settled out of court.
Third, some types of personal injury claims may be subject to limits or “caps” on damage awards. The most notable example of this in Louisiana is medical malpractice. If you sue a doctor or hospital for negligent care and win, the most a court can award you is $500,000. This cap does not cover future medical expenses, however, nor does it apply to any other type of personal injury claim.
Contact Rice & Kendig, LLC, Today
People are often reluctant to contact a lawyer following an accident. But there is no risk or obligation in speaking with us. The personal injury lawyers at Rice & Kendig, LLC, are happy to provide a free, no-obligation consultation. We also work on a contingency basis, so we do not collect any fees unless and until we recover compensation on your behalf. Call us at 318-222-2772 to speak with a lawyer today.
