Get medical attention
The most important thing you can do if you are hurt in a truck accident, workplace accident or another kind of accident is to seek medical attention. In many cases, victims of accidents are taken away by ambulance, but some victims have a choice. Medical costs in the U.S. are sky-high, so some accident victims don’t see a doctor because they don’t think their injuries are severe enough. Sometimes that’s true, but forgoing medical treatment after an accident, regardless of where it occurred, can cause your injuries to get worse.
Below is a list of hospitals in heavily populated areas of Louisiana:
Orleans Parrish Hospital:
New Orleans East Hospital
5620 Read Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127
(504) 592-6600
East Baton Rouge Parish Hospital:
Baton Rouge General Medical Center
3600 Florida Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 387-7000
Lafayette Parish Hospital:
Lafayette General Medical Center
Address: 1214 Coolidge St, Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 289-7991
What’s comes next for accident victims?
Several variables determine how you should resolve your case including the severity of your injuries, how long it takes you to recover from your injuries, how much time you miss from work, and whether your injuries are permanent.
For some accident victims, accepting a settlement from an insurer is the best way to resolve your case and recover compensation quickly. If you decide you would rather settle with an insurer, you should consider retaining a personal injury lawyer to assist you with negotiations.
You can recover compensation for your injuries if you are a victim of a:
- Workplace accident
- Auto accident
- Slip and fall accident
- Accident in a private property
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
Deadly accidents
If a party’s negligence or carelessness resulted in a person’s death, their loved ones have the option of filing a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death settlement covers the deceased victim’s medical, funeral, and burial expenses and the financial and emotional losses their surviving loved ones endure in the aftermath of a deadly accident.
Contact an attorney
USAttorneys.com has a knowledgeable team of accident lawyers who serve injury victims in Louisiana. You can depend on our Louisiana accident attorneys to stand up for your rights and recover fair and full compensation for your accident.
Is it important to talk to a lawyer about damage compensation after an accident in Louisiana?
An experienced Louisiana attorney can offer accident victims competent legal counsel regarding personal injury laws that provide for payment, or indemnity when an injured party is not at fault, referred to as “damages. Accident lawyers are familiar with an insurance company’s desire to close out claims quickly, so it is important to call them shortly after an accident involving injury and property damage. They have valuable resources to support a case by:
- Sending investigators to the accident scene
- Reviewing police reports, witness testimony and medical reports
- Hiring appropriate financial personnel to make valuations of loss
- Determining the cause of the accident
- Supporting victim’s rights against aggressive insurance companies
- Drafting and filing complicated insurance and legal documents
Accidents happen everywhere and due to their unplanned nature, they can leave people with physical and financial hurdles that are difficult to overcome. These unexpected detrimental occurrences sometimes make it necessary to initiate lawsuits to help with monetary compensation and stave off insurmountable debt related to medical bills, lost wages, or funeral expenses resulting from an accident.
What damages can a victim recover from accidental injuries?
Compensatory damages are an award of money in compensation for actual economic losses, injury, and property damage, not including punitive damages. The award of money is meant to address general and special damages:
- Special economic damages related to present and future lost wages, medical bills, future medical care, household expenses and
- General non-economic damages that include pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of consortium, or companionship.
Punitive damages.
Under Louisiana law, punitive damages which are sometimes called “exemplary damages,” are sometimes awarded on a case-by-case basis, where the acts of a defendant are egregious, intentional, and significantly harmful to another person. Punitive damages are awarded for the express purpose of punishing the defendant, and to deter future similar acts, rather than to enrich the plaintiff. It is best to speak with an attorney about accident case specifics, based on proof that a defendant deliberately, or with reckless disregard acted in a manner that would cause harm.
What types of accidents result in legal action toward fiscal recovery?
Workers’ compensation, personal injury, premises liability, medical malpractice and car accidents in Louisiana are at the root of legal action in pursuit of economic, and non-economic damages, plus punitive damages in specific situations. Louisiana states that personal injury lawsuits for injuries caused by negligence, misconduct, or malpractice must be filed within one year from when the injury was sustained, discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable care. An attorney can inform a claimant of any deviations from that timeline.
Motor vehicle.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident in the State of Louisiana, where 768 related deaths occurred in 2018, you may have questions about how the laws will affect property damage and personal injury claims. An experienced attorney can help with the intricacies of a complex accident case that may have criminal components for reckless driving, distracted driving, or driving under the influence, which may affect insurance coverages, degrees of fault and the severity of the accident damages toward a timely award. Louisiana is a third party liability state with regard to car accidents, and follows the pure comparative negligence rule, where an accident victim may seek compensation after a judge, or jury has assigned fault.
Personal injury.
If a person is hurt because of the actions, or inaction of another individual, they may be able to recover compensation when fault and/or liability is proven for the resultant harm. The recovery of damages is contingent on proving that the individual, or entity was negligent and caused the injury and owed a duty of care to the victim, and must be filed within the one year statute of limitations.
Premises liability.
Individuals who are hurt in an accident on someone else’s property may take legal action when it was caused due to poor conditions on the property, including improper maintenance, upkeep, or negative resident, or pet interaction on the premises. The responsibility of the property owner depends on the standard of care owed to the injured person, which is based on the reason for their presence on the property. For example, an invitee is owed a duty of care, but a trespasser may not be owed that same duty. Homeowners’ insurance may cover these types of injuries depending on the individual policy.
Medical malpractice.
Louisiana medical malpractice actions occur when a person becomes injured while being treated by a practicing health care provider. Louisiana does have caps on damages set at $500,000 and any amount over $100,000 will be paid out by Louisiana’s Patient Compensation Fund, but it is important to speak to a medical malpractice attorney for case-specific information.
Workers’ compensation.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission has a specific process to be undertaken when a person becomes injured on the job, or contracts an illness that is job-related, necessitating a workers’ compensation claim for monetary damages. Injuries may be caused by an accident, or event that results in a physical injury, a medical condition that develops over time caused by repetitious use of a body part, or a condition associated with the workplace environment itself.
Wrongful death.
Legal representatives and certain family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit within one year from the date of the death caused by the negligent, reckless, or deliberate act of another. Damages in these lawsuits include:
- Medical bills and burial expenses
- Compensation for lost wages
- Compensation for the pain and suffering
- Punitive damages that are intended to punish the person who caused the death.
Legal action after an accident.
Louisiana accident victims do not have to deal directly with insurance companies toward resolving damage losses. Experienced lawyers can carry that burden and save time, reduce stress, and point accident victims on the right path toward a comprehensive financial award.
