FAQ

While car accidents make up a majority of our work, we handle all sorts of injury claims, including falls, motorcycle accidents, burn/explosion cases, medical negligence, assaults, defective product claims, and nearly any scenario that causes injury to our clients.

Because there is so much difference from one case to the next, there is no rule as to how long a case might take. Simple cases involving minor injuries often resolve in five to seven months, while in other cases the medical treatment alone may extend over a couple of years.

Though suit is filed on many cases, the majority of cases still settle before trial. Court records establish that less than 10% of claims will go to full trial.

We have a number of strategies to help address this question, and our resources and relationships in this area are one reason many of our clients return to us or refer their family members, who may need medical treatment but lack insurance or sufficient cash flow to obtain care. We can very often facilitate treatment that would be otherwise unavailable.

Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315 provides that the at-fault party owes all losses reasonably attributed to the accident, including lost wages, medical expenses, damage to property, pain & suffering, mental & emotional distress, future medical expenses and earnings impairment, and more. Some cases include fact patterns that may give rise to claims for penalty damages and attorney’s fees.

Louisiana has one of the shortest claim filing periods in the country. In many cases, your rights will be lost if suit is not filed within one year of the accident. Other claims, such as contract disputes, may provide for a longer time period.

Louisiana is a “comparative fault” state, meaning the judge or jury in a case may allocate fault among plaintiffs and defendants or even non-parties to the suit. A plaintiff found to be 10% at fault would still collect 90% of their damages, in most cases.

The value of the case is based on the type and degree of harm suffered, the cost to treat the injury or repair the damage. Case values may differ from one region or court to the next, and amount of recovery may be affected by amount of available insurance coverage. Each case has unique factors that will affect it’s value, and thus it’s best to speak to a lawyer with experience in the area where your case will be tried.

Typically, the insurer for the at-fault party will issue payment upon settlement or final judgment. We also have experience collecting judgments from uninsured defendants in certain cases.

There was a time when we felt like folks who were organized and comfortable with figures and negotiations could handle simple, clear liability claims involving minor injuries without the assistance of counsel. Those days are long gone now, and the unfortunate truth is that the claims industry has changed substantially. The system has grown more complex and less user friendly. The primary problem is that crash victims believe the insurance company wants the same things they do, namely a fair and efficient, early resolution to their claim. But insurers are driven solely by profits, and there is overwhelming internal pressure within insurance claims offices to achieve the lowest possible cost per claim. These pressures result in development of strategies and techniques to push the boundaries of ethical behavior, to purposefully stall and delay claims, to fail to advise claimants accurately as to their rights, in short, to take every possible advantage of insurer’s knowledge, familiarity, databases and bargaining position to force claimants into resolving claims for well under accepted values. These practices are at their most egregious when what began as a small claim turns out to involve serious injuries that aren’t readily apparent, and the claimant learns too late that they have been taken advantage of in a case that now involves life-altering injuries.

Initially, there is no out-of-pocket cost. Injury lawyers are typically paid at the end of the claim, after funds have been recovered for the claimant, from a percentage of the recovered funds. This allows injured crash victims to get legal counsel even where they may be in financial hardship due to accident injuries and interruption of work and income.