Car Accident Attorneys

Louisiana Auto Accident Lawyers

We travel in our cars and trucks every day never thinking we might be the next victim of a careless, distracted driver. But roads and highways are a dangerous place to be. Devastation and disaster occur every day to people who never dreamt it would happen to them. We must remain vigilant in our daily routine to appreciate this and drive safely. Many people die or suffer life changing accidents every year because of the carelessness of another while operating deadly equipment – an auto, truck, motorcycle, boat, etc.

National data regarding injuries and fatalities involving car crashes is alarming. There are typically over five million car accidents per year in the United States. Approximately 30,000 of these produce fatalities, and more than 2 million people are injured every year in car wrecks.

Over the years, we’ve become more careful and defensive drivers as a result of the experiences of our clients. We hope that we can help others become better able to protect themselves, their families, and others by our observations below. Some of the more common scenarios that make up negligence behind the wheel include:

• Speeding. It’s true what they say, “speed kills.” Before we represented families torn apart by needless car crashes, we were among those that frequently exceeded the speed limits. I wasn’t a terror on wheels, but I drove too fast. Now, having seen the tragic consequences of car wrecks, I rarely exceed posted speed limits, and when I do, it’s only by a few miles per hour. When it comes down to it, there simply is no good reason to put one’s self and others in danger by driving too fast. And when you consider that speeding rarely saves very much time, this is perhaps the easiest of all safe driving techniques to practice routinely and without exception. Try it.
• Following too closely and simply not paying attention. Remember the rule we all learned, or should have learned, when we first began driving? Allow one car length of space between your car and the car in front of you for every ten miles per hour you are traveling. Consider whether you follow this rule next time you are driving, and look around for all the people you see that violate this rule. Rear end accidents cause devastating injuries every year, and you should do what you can to protect yourself and your family from these injuries and resulting problems.
• Improper lane change. We all observe those drivers whipping in and out of traffic and changing lanes when it is not safe to do so. Almost without exception, those drivers will be in an accident or cause an accident at some time in their lives. Those drivers are like ticking time bombs, and their irresponsibility is selfish and inexcusable.
• Unsafe passing. Passing when it is not safe to do so often creates the most catastrophic wrecks because high speeds are commonly involved and because many of the resulting wrecks are head-on collisions. If you observe a driver behind you that is just dead set on passing you even when it is not safe, do what you can to make it safer for that person – and for you. Slow down and move to the right as much as you can. You can’t change that person’s reckless driving, but your awareness and quick thinking might prevent your own injury or death.
• Running red lights and stop signs. How many people do you see run red lights every week? I bet it’s a lot. Again, there’s nothing you can do to stop that person from endangering others, but you can protect yourself by always looking both ways even when your light is green. It might save your life or the life of someone you love one day.
• Illegal or unsafe left turn. We see this very often, and the end result is often disastrous to the passenger of the car making the improper left turn, and others. There are no excuses to turning in front of a car that has the right of way, and yet it happens all the time. Unfortunately, this is one of the most difficult car wrecks to protect against because it happens without warning and very quickly. Please be very careful in those left turns!
• Phone use and texting while driving. Everyone knows the dangers associated with distraction that comes with cell phone use, and particularly with text messaging while driving, yet still so many people do it. Human nature is a funny thing, as it often makes people believe that while something is dangerous for others, it’s not dangerous for them because they are more careful than others. Of course, we all know that’s not true.
• Worn or underinflated tires or faulty brakes. We often forget that properly inflated tires are the key to proper traction, particularly in wet road conditions. And obviously, old worn out tires cannot produce proper traction. Without proper traction, even the best drivers can lose control of their vehicle and wreck, causing injury to themselves and others. But, whether we forget or not, every driver has a duty to others to be sure their vehicle is in good working order. If a driver breaches that duty and as a result injures you, that driver is responsible to pay for your damages.
• Just plain inattention. There’s a common factor in every car wreck – inattention. Drivers that pay close attention to what they’re doing very rarely cause wrecks.

Every driver owes every other person on the road their full attention while driving. When a driver fails this duty and harms others, the inattentive driver must pay all damages caused. That’s the law. If you’ve been injured in a car wreck as a result of someone else’s inattention or careless driving, you are entitled to be paid for your injuries , and for your harms and losses you are experiencing as a result of those injuries.

Please call us. We can help.

It is not a simple matter to get the insurance company to pay you. The typical insurance company will assert many defenses to your claim, including the following:

• The wreck is not the fault of our insured. We’re not paying.
• If the wreck was the fault of our insured, you’re not really hurt. You’re faking your injuries. We’re not paying.
• If the wreck was the fault of our insured, and you’re hurt, you’re not hurt bad. You’re exaggerating your injuries. We’re not paying much.
• If the wreck was the fault of our insured, and you’re hurt bad, your injuries must be from something else. We’re not paying, or we’re not paying much.
• If the wreck was the fault of our insured, and you’re hurt bad, we’re going to try to show the jury all the mistakes you’ve made in your life and say that that you are an undeserving person. And, we’re not paying much.
• If none of that works, the insurance company will just drag the lawsuit on for as long as possible and then offer less money than what your case is worth because it believes you are desperate for money.

Experienced lawyers see these disingenuous defenses coming from the beginning. We see them. We prepare for them, and know how to deal with them.

If you have been injured in a wreck, do not talk to anyone from an insurance company until you first speak with a lawyer. And be warned, the insurance adjuster or investigator that first contacts you will sound like he or she wants nothing more than to simply get the facts and pay you what you are due. It’s not true. Bottom line, don’t talk to anyone from any insurance company until you’ve spoken with a lawyer.

It’s tempting to believe that justice should be provided to all in this country just for the asking. Afterall, that’s what this country is about, right? Well, yes, but the reality of things changes a bit when money is involved, and there is a lot of money involved in this fight we take on every day. The insurance companies have lots of money, but they want to keep it. There are many ways to go wrong in your case, and you cannot do what needs to be done without a good lawyer. Please call us now and decide for yourself whether we are those lawyers.