CASE RESULTS

My clients were the wife and two daughters of a fine, hard-working gentleman from Lockport, Louisiana who tragically died in a fatal head on collision on Louisiana Highway 1 in Lafourche Parish while on his way to work at 4 o’clock in the morning.

The driver of the truck that caused the accident was an out-of-state Gulf of Mexico offshore worker who was driving back home after spending a two week work shift in Louisiana. He left his hotel in Galliano, Louisiana after drinking late into the night with his supervisor and crew. With a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit, the truck driver crossed the center lane of Louisiana Highway 1 and crashed head on into our victims truck.

Truck driver’s employer and its insurance company refused to pay, claiming that the intoxicated employee was not in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, and that the employer’s insurance policy therefore did not provide coverage for the claim. Under Louisiana law, an employer can only be held responsible for an employee’s fault if employee was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident. This is called vicarious liability under Louisiana law.

The employer and its insurer argued that because the truck driver left the job drunk and without permission, it could not be held responsible for his actions. We argued that the employer should be held liable, because driving back to his home state from his job site in Louisiana was a specific duty of his employment, that he was actually paid for doing so, and that his supervisor admitted getting drunk with the truck driver at the hotel. The jury agreed, found the employer vicariously liable, found that the employer’s insurance policy provided coverage, and awarded $2,496,000 in total damages, $1,600,000 of which were awarded as punitive damages.

Under Louisiana law, driving while intoxicated is one of the few instances in which a jury is given the discretion to award punitive damages in addition to actual damages against a drunk defendant driver in a wrongful death or personal injury claim. In order to do so, the jury must find that the driver’s intoxication was in fact a cause of the accident. The jury is then permitted broad discretion to determine how much is the proper amount to award in punitive damages against the driver in a trucking accident or car accident, taking into account the unique facts of a particular case.

The trial took place in Thibodaux, Louisiana and lasted seven days.

Our client, a young woman, was slowing her Jeep Cherokee for traffic on Interstate 10 when an eighteen-wheeler operated by Jones Motor Co., Inc., rear-ended the Jeep, causing it to burst into flames. She was pulled from the Jeep after several minutes with minor cuts and bruises, but no burns. She was later diagnosed with a mild spine injury, bulging cervical (neck) disc, which all physicians agreed would not require surgery. She was also diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. The truck driver tested positive for Methadone, which he was taking pursuant to a physician’s prescription for chronic back pain related to prior surgeries. Toxicology experts disagreed on whether the dosage of Methadone prescribed could cause “intoxication,” as well as whether its use caused the accident, as required to impose punitive damages for driving while intoxicated under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315.4.

Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. The insurance company’s last offer prior to trial was $125,000. Jury awarded $500,000 in actual damages plus $1,500,000 in punitive damages. The punitive damage award was to punish the truck driver for driving under the influence of Methadone even though the Methadone was prescribed by a physician to the driver for back pain. A defense toxicology expert testified that the amount of Methadone detected in the driver’s blood could not have contributed to the accident. Our toxicology expert testified that it did. The jury, disregarding the testimony of the trucking company’s expert, found that the Methadone caused the driver to be impaired and played a part in causing the accident.

Our client, a young husband with two children, sustained closed-head brain injury as a result of an automobile accident. The at-fault driver’s insurance company initially refused to pay, but shortly before trial, agreed to pay the entirety of its insurance policy limits of $2,000,000.

Our client, a young married man with one child, was a welder on an offshore drilling rig when he sustained a fractured hip and reduced ability to earn wages in the future as a result of an accident sustained on the offshore drilling rig to which he was assigned. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans.

Our client was an elderly gentleman who fell, fracturing his hip, as a result of a defective walkway within a business establishment. The defendants initially offered nothing in settlement. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. Shortly before trial, agreed to pay $1,000,000 to settle the claim.

Our client, a young husband with three children, was a floor hand and Jones Act seaman who suffered a shoulder injury while working on an offshore jack-up drilling rig while working for Blake Offshore, LLC. The injury required arthroscopic surgery. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. Blake and its insurance company offered relatively little in settlement, so the case proceeded to trial. The court determined that Blake’s termination of our client’s employment after his injury constituted “retaliatory discharge” under maritime law, meaning that Blake’s firing was motivated by our client exercising his right to hire an attorney and make a claim. The court awarded a total of $623,000, more than double what had been offered in settlement.

Our client was a middle-aged gentleman, married with children, who sustained a lumbar (back) injury consisting of a bulging and herniated disc requiring a surgery from an automobile accident. The insurance company initially would not offer any amount in settlement. When the trial date drew near, the company ultimately agreed to settle for $1,000,000.

Our client was a young, married woman with two children who suffered a neck injury, including bulging and herniated cervical (neck) discs. She did not require surgery. The defendant insurance company initially offered a very small amount. As the trial date approached, the defendant ultimately agreed to settle for a total of $950,000 at mediation.

Our client was a registered nurse, married with children, who sustained a lumbar (back) injury requiring a single-level discectomy surgery after she tripped over a dolly left in the aisle at Wal-Mart by an employee. Wal-Mart refused to offer more than a very small amount in settlement. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. At trial, a jury awarded a total of $447,000.

Our client was a middle-aged woman whose husband died while working aboard an industrial offshore vessel in the Mississippi River. After the defendants refused to settle, suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. As the scheduled trial date approached, the defendants agreed to settle for a total of $600,000.

Our clients were the children of a woman killed as a pedestrian by an automobile. The automobile insurer initially offered nothing, claiming that its insurance policy did not provide coverage for the accident in question. A lawsuit was filed in federal court in New Orleans, and the insurer agreed to settle the case when the trial date approached.

Our clients were a married couple with children whose home was destroyed by fire. The home was insured for fire damage by Travelers Insurance Company, who refused to pay, claiming that the fire was intentionally set. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. The jury accepted the testimony of plaintiffs’ cause and origin expert, disregarding the testimony of the insurance company’s expert, and awarded a verdict for the entire insurance policy limits of $155,000, plus bad faith damages and penalties in the amount of $225,000, for a total of $380,000.

Our client was a middle-aged husband and father who suffered lumbar (back) and cervical (neck) injuries, including bulging and herniated discs as a result of an automobile accident. The insurance company initially offered very little in settlement, claiming that its insurance policy did not provide coverage. After the court ruled in our client’s favor on that issue, and approximately one week before trial, the insurance company agreed to settle for a total of $436,666.

Our client was a young husband and father who sustained a cervical (neck) injury requiring surgery in an automobile accident due to the fault of another driver. After the insurance company refused to offer any amount to settle, suit was filed in federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana. Within two weeks of a scheduled trial date, the insurance company ultimately agreed to settle the case for $490,000.

Our client was a young woman who sustained a cervical (neck) injury, which required surgery, in an automobile accident as a result of the negligence of the other driver. The defendant insurance company refused to offer any amount initially. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. Less than three weeks prior to trial, the insurance company agreed to pay $450,000 in settlement.

Our client was a young worker who fell from the back of a parked 18-wheeler truck due to the trucking company employee’s fault, as he assisted our client in loading cargo onto the truck. Our client sustained a broken arm. The insurance company refused to offer any amount in settlement. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. As the trial date approached, the insurance company agreed to a settlement of $350,000.

Our client was a young woman who sustained a lumbar (back) injury requiring a single level discectomy surgery. The defendant initially offered a very small amount, but after suit was filed, and as a trial date approached, ultimately agreed to settle the case for $346,000.

Our client, while performing work beside a highway, was struck by a vehicle which left its lane of travel due to the fault of the driver. He sustained a laceration injury to his arm which caused some nerve damage. The insurance company initially offered nothing to settle, claiming that its policy did not provide any coverage for the accident in question. After the court ruled in our client’s favor on that issue, the insurance company agreed to settle for $431,872.

Our client was an elderly lady who sustained a lumbar (back) injury consisting of a bulging disc for which she required minor surgery after she fell due to a defect on the floor of a commercial establishment. The defendant insurance company initially offered nothing. One week before trial, the insurance company agreed to settle for $200,000.

Our client was a young man who was employed by one company, but working on the industrial premises of another company, who sustained a back injury not requiring surgery due to the negligence of an employee of the other company.

Our client, a married young man with children, was maritime worker and Jones Act seaman working aboard a barge when he sustained a cervical (neck) injury consisting of a bulging disc which did not require surgery. Initially, the defendant offered a very small amount in settlement. Suit was filed in federal court in New Orleans. As a trial date approached, the defendant ultimately agreed to settle the case for $200,000.

Our client was an older gentleman, a husband and father, who sustained a leg injury while working for a highway construction crew. Initially, the workers’ compensation insurance company refused to pay anything, claiming that our client was intoxicated at the time of his injury. With a trial date approaching, the insurance company ultimately settled for a total of $218,246.