Category: Personal Injury

What Should I do After a Car Accident? 1. Stay at the scene: Never leave the scene of an accident, no matter how minor it seems.  2. Protect the scene: Put your vehicle in park, turn off the engine, and turn on your hazard lights.  If you have them, use cones, flares, or reflectors to warn other drivers of your presence.  If the wreck is minor, meaning there is little damage and no injuries, move the vehicles out of the way of traffic, especially if you are on the interstate. 3. Check for injuries: Check yourself, your passengers, and the

Social Security Grid Rules: The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) that decide social security disability cases at the hearing level frequently use a grid of the Medical-Vocational Rules to determine if a claimant is disabled or not.  If the “grid rules” indicate a finding of disabled, then it is referred to as “gridding out” and the analysis essentially stops in the claimant’s favor.  On the other hand, if the grids indicate a finding of not-disabled, it is still possible that you can be found disabled if your functional capacity is further eroded by other limitations

What is the Louisiana Direct Action Statute? Louisiana is a “direct action” state, meaning a plaintiff may name an insurer in a lawsuit.  In most other states, if you bring a personal injury lawsuit, you cannot name the insurance carrier in that lawsuit.  Louisiana on the other hand was one of the first to enact a direct action statute.  It expresses Louisiana’s long public policy that “an insurance policy against liability is not issued primarily for the protection of the insured but for the protection of the public.”  Davies v. Consolidated Underwriters , (La. 1942). La. R.S. 22:1269 does not create

What is Comparative Fault? The term “comparative fault” refers to a system of apportioning damages between negligent parties based on their proportionate shares of fault.  Under a comparative fault system, a plaintiff’s negligence will not completely bar recovery like states that employ the harsh contributory negligence rule, but it will reduce the amount of damages the plaintiff can recover based on the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. The “pure comparative fault rule” allows a damaged party to recover even if it is 99% at fault, although the recovery is reduced by the damaged party’s degree of fault.   Louisiana’s comparative fault law

What is the Defense Base Act? The Defense Base Act (DBA), enacted in 1941, is an extension of the Longshore Act and primarily extends benefits to defense contractors injured at overseas military bases. This means that the same benefits afforded to longshoremen are also available to injured defense contractors, including compensation for lost wages, loss of earning capacity, past and future medical expenses, vocational rehabilitation, death benefits, and more. The difference is that a DBA claimant need not be a longshoreman or offshore worker.  Rather, a DBA claimant is one who is working for a private company that is contracted by

What is the Longshore Act? The Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA), often referred to as the “Longshore Act”, provides a federal workers’ comp remedy for injured longshoremen.  Benefits are administered by the Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation (DLHWC), a division of the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP) within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  If the dispute is not resolved by informal hearing with the OWCP, the District Director will refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) for adjudication by and ALJ.  Appeals from the OALJ are taken to the Benefits

Admiralty and Maritime Law: The maritime industry is of critical importance to Louisiana and the Gulf South, supporting thousands of jobs and providing businesses access to markets the globe.  Admiralty and maritime law is a unique legal field that covers activities that occur on or adjacent to navigable waters including the high seas, rivers, and lakes that can be used for interstate and international commerce.  Due to the complexity of maritime law, it is critically important that you have a well-versed maritime attorney fighting to ensure that you recover all that you are entitled to under the law. Unseaworthiness: Under the general maritime

Social Security Claims Analysis: Disability for the purposes of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for at least 12 consecutive months.  This social security analysis standard can be broken down as follows: Step 1 – Substantial Gainful Activity: Generally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) wants to know if a person is still working.  SSA

Social Security Application and Appeals: Initial Application: When you decide to pursue Social Security Disability or SSI benefits you first need to fill out the initial application.  The first step of the social security claims process is to acquire medical records and fill out an application in person, by phone, or online.  Many applicants choose to take this step alone since it seems so straight forward, but unfortunately many initial applications are also denied.  A social security disability lawyer can help develop your claim based upon your age, education, impairments, work history, and how you reached the point of being

Social Security Benefits for the Disabled: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).  They are meant to provide a safety net to disabled Americans and their families when working is no longer possible.  Unfortunately, many claims are initially denied for medical and non-medical reasons. If you are dealing with the SSDI or SSI appeals process, a Social Security lawyer may be your best chance to prove your disability claim to the SSA or Office of Hearings Operations (OHO). What is SSDI? SSDI is a program designed for people who have