[accordion-item title="I was hurt by a minor who was drinking at our neighbor's home. Can I sue my neighbor who supplied the liquor? "]
Ordinarily under Louisiana law, the social host, the person who had the party and served liquor, is not responsible for the person who consumed the liquor and went out and may have gotten in an accident. That only applies to adults of drinking age.  So if the person is 21 and over, went to a party, a holiday party let’s say, got on the road, and got in accident with you, they certainly would be responsible– but most likely, you cannot go after the homeowner. That changes, though, if the person who was on the road and ran into you was a minor, somebody under 21, not of legal age to drink.  In that circumstance, yes, we would absolutely explore potential action against that homeowner to help provide additional compensation to you for improperly serving an underage person and allowing them out on the road.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Will I get reimbursed for my co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses as a result of my Louisiana car accident?"]
Absolutely.  We will certainly pursue any co-payments that you have to make, any out of pocket expenses. One of the things we always advise our clients to do is keep a good record of those things. If you have to go to the doctor, and it cost you $25 to see the doctor that day, if you have to pay for prescriptions out of pocket, or anything like that, keep a record of that. Provide us with the receipts and we will present those to the other driver’s insurance company to ensure that you are reimbursed for them.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Can I sue the driver of the car I was riding in if I was injured in a Louisiana car accident?"]
Absolutely.  You may sue the driver of the car you are riding in following an accident.  It really it doesn’t matter who was driving the car, typically. It just matters what fault they may have for the injuries that you’ve suffered, so if you’re riding in the car with a friend or family member, and as a result of their carelessness, something should happen to you, absolutely we can explore potential action against them, and more importantly their insurer. Many people don’t want to go after a friend or a family member personally, but as long as they have insurance, we can limit our action against their insurance company, and only recover what insurance would be available to help make you whole for your injuries.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Will it cost me any money to bring a Louisiana auto accident case?"]
If you had the services of our firm, one thing we do–you will pay no money unless we actually collect compensation for you. So, no. It will not cost you anything to hire our firm to pursue a claim on your behalf following your accident.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Who will pay for my rental car following my Louisiana car accident?"]
After being involved in an accident, one of the major concerns for most of our clients is, “How will I get back and forth from school or work or whatnot? Who is going to put me in a rental car?” Well, the short answer is the other driver’s insurance company is not necessarily required to pay for a rental for you. They’re required to reimburse your rental expenses. However, if it’s clear that that accident is 100% the other driver’s fault, it’s very common for the other driver’s insurance company to help arrange for a rental vehicle. If not, there are other avenues. We can look at your own insurance policy and see if you have rental reimbursement. They may be able to put you into a rental car so you can make it to work, make it to school, and limit the amount of disruption that this accident causes on your life.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="What if I was not wearing a seat belt at the time of my Louisiana car accident? Can I still recover damages?"]
If you weren’t wearing your seat belt at the time of the accident, it does not stop or prohibit you from making a claim in connection with your injuries. Louisiana law is such where that will not necessarily be held against you. The only thing that really matters is who caused the injury; who was at fault in connection with the accident? If you didn’t have your seat belt on at the time, it’s something we can deal with, and it won’t stop you from proceeding with your claim.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="If I am in a car accident will my lost wages be covered?"]
Yes, absolutely. Lost wages is one component of damages that we can pursue on behalf of our clients. Assuming, of course, that the proper documentation is there. What I mean by that is documentation from either you or your employer showing how many hours you were working before the accident versus how many you could work after–tax returns, things of that nature to show an actual impact to your wages. If you’ve lost wages as a result of a car accident, we can and absolutely will pursue that as an element of damages in your case.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="If I am unhappy with my present car accident lawyer, can I switch attorneys? How much will it cost to change attorneys?"]
It’s the client’s choice as to who represents them as their attorney. If at any time during the course of your case, you become dissatisfied, the attorney is not, in your opinion, representing your best interests, failing to return phone calls, things of that nature, you can choose to take your case elsewhere. As far as what does it cost? It shouldn’t cost you anything extra. As a matter of fact, you can bring that case to any law firm you want, let them know about the prior attorney, and that new attorney and the old attorney will work out how to “split the fee”, if you will, at the end of the day, who gets what. It shouldn’t cost you anything to switch attorneys if you’re dissatisfied with what your current attorney is doing for you.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="If I miss work as a result of a Louisiana car accident, can my lost wages be recovered?"]
Absolutely.  Lost wages is one of the many types of damages that we often pursue for our clients following an accident. The key in that circumstance is documenting the amount of time that you lost from work and ensuring that that’s all properly documented between you and your employer, your human resources department and whatnot. We certainly will pursue lost wages in connection with any claim if you have lost time from work.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="I was in a car accident. Who is going to pay for my property damage and medical bills?"]
If you’ve been in a car accident and suffer property damage and now are incurring medical bills, more than likely that other person– the other driver, and specifically the insurance company– is going to be the one to compensate you for your medical bills and property damage. If they don’t have enough insurance, or they don’t have insurance at all, we’d then look at your own insurance policy–if you were driving a company vehicle, the company’s insurance policy– to ensure that somebody else, not you, is the one who’s paying for those bills as they come in.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="I was driving a company car when I was injured in an accident. Who pays for my medical bills?"]
If you’ve been injured in an accident at the time that you were driving a company or a business car, there’s a few avenues that we can approach to try and compensate for your damages. There’s always the other driver and their insurance company. That’s without question. Also, if you are on the job and injured, there may be worker’s compensation that we help guide you down a path to at least start that medical treatment that you’re going to need. At the end of the day, we can seek reimbursement from the other driver and their insurance company.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="How much is my Louisiana auto accident case worth?"]
It really depends. The number 1 questions most clients want to know is how much is my case worth. It really does depend on the individual circumstances of a particular client’s case. There are multiple factors: 1.) Who exactly was at fault? 2.) How much insurance is available? and 3.) Really, how hurt was the client? There’s no uniform number of what it’s worth. That’s something that we review with the client based upon the facts and circumstances of that particular case, and we provide guidance as the claim goes on as to what values may be of issue there.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="How long will it take to get money in my Louisiana auto accident case?"]
The amount of time to settle, or receive any compensation in any particular auto accident case, really varies from one to another. Every case is unique. Every client’s injury is unique. Everybody responds to injury and heals differently. We’re not prepared to start talking money until after you’ve completely healed–until after you and your doctor have made that decision that you’ve reached maximum improvement possible, through your therapies. There is no real uniform or set length of time before a client would receive any sort of money in a case. It depends upon their own individual circumstances.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="How do attorneys charge for Louisiana auto accident cases?"]
Most attorneys on auto accident cases charge on what’s known as a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee is a fee that is contingent upon recovery to the client– meaning if there’s no money paid to the client at the end of the day, the attorney doesn’t receive a fee in connection with their services. In the New Orleans market, the kind of industry standard fee is around 1/3, or 33% to 40% of the recovery. At our office, though, our fee structure begins at 30% which quite often results in more compensation remaining with the client where it’s rightfully deserved.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="How long does it take to settle a Louisiana auto accident case?"]
It really depends. The length of time it takes to settle an auto accident case, it really does depend upon the individual circumstances. Everybody’s case is different.  Everybody responds to injury differently.  Everybody takes a different length of time to heal. There’s no one real set amount of time that it takes to settle a case. We obviously work as quickly as we can, but you really need to focus on healing, and that part is unique to every individual and it takes a different amount of time every time.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Do I have to go to court if I want to recover monetary damages in my Louisiana auto accident case?"]
No.  There’s no requirement that you go to court in order to receive monetary damages following your auto accident case. As a matter of fact, probably 90%-95% of the matters that we handle are able to be resolved amicably with the insurance company through settlement negotiations or mediation, or some other pre-court process. That said, if need be, we are prepared to take the insurance company to court if they’re not going to be fair and just in connection with your injury.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Can I receive money even if the Louisiana car accident was my fault?"]
Yes.  Louisiana provides what’s known as comparative fault. What that means is all the facts and circumstances of your accident will be considered, and fault has to be distributed between all the parties. If you are somewhat at fault in your accident, the most that’ll occur is your recovery will be reduced by a certain percentage. For example, let’s say your damages are worth $10,000 in your accident, and the judge or jury determines that you were 25% percent at fault. In that circumstance you would be entitled to $7,500, or $10,000 less the 25% of your fault.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Can someone sue for the pain and suffering of a decedent in Louisiana?"]
If you’ve had the unfortunate circumstance of losing a loved one in an accident and the death of that loved one was not immediate–there was some suffering that occurred from the time of the accident to the time that they passed on–then yes.  There are certain laws and rights under Louisiana law that would allow us to, some way somehow, receive compensation for that loved one’s suffering from the time of the accident to the time of their death.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Can a passenger recover damages in Louisiana for accident injuries caused by a driver of the same car?"]
Absolutely. If you’re the passenger in a vehicle and you’re injured in a car accident that was caused by the driver of the car that you were riding in, absolutely you can recover for those injuries. Quite often that may be a close friend or a family member who was driving. People are very concerned, “Oh, I don’t want to sue my brother, my sister, my cousin, or my close friend.” Know that there are things that we can do, short of filing suit, in order to ensure that you receive compensation for your injuries. All at the end of the day that matters is who was really at fault in connection with your claim. If that happens to be the driver of the car that you’re riding in, know that there are potential avenues to recover for your injuries there.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Can I get a car accident attorney to reduce his or her fees from the typical charges of 33 percent to 40 percent of the settlement?"]
While the “industry standard”, if you will, in the New Orleans market is 1/3 or 33% to 40% fee for a car accident case, you can absolutely find other options. For example, at our firm our fee starts at 30% of the gross recovery amount. If we’re able to settle your case without having to file suit, we only charge you 30% of your amount. If we actually have to file suit, our fee only increases to 37%, which is still less than most other attorneys in this market charge. So, yes. There are options out there. Ask questions, and inevitably you’ll end up in the right place you need to be.

[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="Are punitive damages available in a Louisiana auto accident case?"]
Unfortunately, in 1996 the Louisiana legislature under the guidance of then Governor Foster really gutted a lot of damages available to victims of accidents in this state. One of those included punitive damages. However, despite those changes in the law, there are very limited circumstances under which you can collect punitive damages. For example, if you’re injured by a drunk driver that would be one circumstance where we might be able to pursue punitive damages under the laws that exist today.
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