An injury can mean terrible news for you and your family. One day, you wake up to run your day-to-day errands, only to end up in the hospital with a fractured spine or a traumatic brain injury. What’s next?
Between being sidelined at work, footing expensive medical bills, and caring for your loved ones, your situation could significantly affect your quality of life. Whether you have been injured in a car crash, an oilfield accident, or a slip and fall accident in which you are not at fault, Louisiana’s legal system allows you to file a claim or lawsuit to recover compensation for damages.
The severity and extent of your injury aren’t always apparent after an accident. Many injuries have long-term effects, with some lasting a lifetime. Ongoing treatment and rehabilitation can be expensive. Such bills shouldn’t be your burden to bear but rather the burden of the party at fault and their insurance company.
A skilled Baton Rouge injury lawyer can walk with you throughout the entire personal injury process, fighting for the best possible settlement for your case.
Injury claims in Baton Rouge can arise from various factors. Common claims our Baton Rouge injury lawyers handle include:
Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of personal injury claims in Baton Rouge and all over Louisiana. These accidents can result in a range of serious injuries, including head trauma, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and even fatalities. According to data from Louisiana’s Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation, there were approximately 69 fatal crashes in East Baton Rouge and seven in West Baton Rouge in 2023.
Common motor vehicle accidents our Baton Rouge injury lawyers handle include:
Whether you are driving I-10 to work or cruising along College Drive during the weekend, a car accident can happen in an instant. Reasons car accidents happen include driver error, faulty vehicle equipment, road conditions, texting while driving, and alcohol or drug use while driving. Common types of car accidents include:
Popular routes for commercial trucks, including I-10, U.S. Highway 190, and Airline Highway, are prone to truck accidents that can lead to catastrophic or even fatal injuries. Your Baton Rouge injury lawyer should understand the complex laws and regulations governing the trucking industry in Louisiana and throughout the U.S., including the hours of service (HOS) regulations.
In any motor vehicle collision, motorcycle operators are about 22 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die and four times more likely to sustain injuries. Given that motorcyclists are more exposed while on the road and lack protection, they are more susceptible to sustaining severe injuries during motorcycle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 87 motorcycle ride fatalities in 2022 in Louisiana.
When motorists fail to yield the right of way or are distracted in areas or roads with heavy pedestrian traffic, such as the Mall of Louisiana and Florida Boulevard, pedestrian accidents are bound to happen. Alarmingly, Baton Rouge is the fifth most dangerous metro area for pedestrians.
Bicycle accidents in Baton Rouge typically happen in areas with heavy traffic and limited bike lanes. Areas around Louisiana State University and along Sherwood Forest Boulevard are some high-risk places for bicycle accidents. Cyclists also face significant risks in residential neighborhoods that lack designated cycling paths.
From the Mississippi River, which flows along the eastern edge of Baton Rouge, to the Amite River, or Bayou Manchac, boating accidents in Baton Rouge can lead to severe injuries or even life loss. Boat operators’ inexperience, inattention, alcohol use, speeding, and adverse weather conditions are some causes of these accidents.
While rare in Baton Rouge, aviation accidents can happen when planes take off from or touch down at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. These accidents can arise from commercial airplane accidents, private plane crashes, or helicopter accidents. Evidence such as flight data, cockpit recorders, and the plane’s wreckage can help prove liability.
Workplace accidents can occur in many industries in Baton Rouge. They may result from unsafe work conditions, defective machinery, or the negligence of employers, workers, or third parties. Industrial accidents frequently lead to catastrophic injuries, such as amputations, burns, and traumatic brain injuries. Workers may sustain these injuries in construction sites, oilfields, refineries, and warehouses.
Louisiana’s workers’ compensation law protects employees injured in industrial accidents. It’s important to note that employers and insurance companies often try to save money by denying or underpaying claims related to on-the-job injuries. With an experienced Baton Rouge injury lawyer by your side, you can recover compensation to cover your medical treatment, medication, physical therapy, and lost wages.
Wrongful death cases in Baton Rouge are unnecessary tragedies. Compensation for these horrifying personal injury accidents caused by the negligent actions of others can cover the decedent’s medical bills, lost wages, and funeral costs. Surviving family members can receive compensation for the death of their loved one, which covers their pain and suffering, as well as the loss of companionship. Damages in wrongful death claims help families find some peace after the sudden loss of their loved ones.
After an accident, you may sustain severe injuries that impact your life long term and affect your ability to get back to work or lead a normal life. For example, a coma can result in more significant damages than a soft tissue injury.
Types of injuries you may sustain in an accident include:
As a victim of an accident caused by the negligent actions of another party, you risk sustaining severe injuries that may alter the course of your life. It’s advisable to seek immediate medical care and speak to reputable Baton Rouge injury lawyers after an accident.
Experiencing a catastrophic injury after an accident can be overwhelming, but knowing the appropriate steps to take can help you build a compelling personal injury case. Whether you take these steps on behalf of yourself or someone you care about, they can make all the difference.
Here are important things to do after an accident or injury:
Plaintiffs file personal injury cases to seek compensation, also known as “damages,” for the harm they have suffered. Here, the idea is that a victim is compensated so that they don’t have to bear the financial burden of someone else’s negligent or reckless actions.
There are various types of damages available in Baton Rouge personal injury lawsuits, some of which are economic and tied to specific expenses related to the injury, while others are non-economic and more subjective. The amount of compensation you receive generally depends on the severity of your injury and your share of blame.
Here are some of the damages available in a personal injury case:
Medical expenses that you may incur after sustaining an injury include treatment, tests, hospital stays, medication, and outpatient care. You may also require ongoing medical care if your injuries are severe or permanent. You may face medical bills in the thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Damages in a settlement or trial should cover all of this.
Whether it’s a few days off work or you are unable to work going forward, you may be entitled to receive compensation for lost wages.
This compensation is awarded depending on the threshold of pain and suffering you have endured and your type of injury. Consider the amount of pain and suffering a victim with second-burn injuries may experience compared to someone with a slight bruise after an accident. To get damages for your pain and suffering, you need to have as much evidence as possible to prove the impact of your injury.
Medical records, which can show diagnoses, clinic visits, prescriptions, and hospital stays, are an excellent way of proving the extent and duration of recovery. This only works if you are proactive about your medical treatment and communicate with your doctor about how the injury is affecting you, as well as your pain levels due to the injury. It can also help to keep a written record of how you feel and your symptoms.
This type of compensation relates to your mental and emotional state after an accident. Depending on the circumstances, you could suffer anything from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Securing damages from emotional distress usually requires you to have detailed and accurate records from your psychologist, therapist, or psychiatrist. You also need a diagnosis of a specific psychiatric condition.
If you or your loved one have been involved in an accident and sustained injuries to the extent that you can’t truly make a relationship work with your spouse or partner, you could seek compensation for loss of consortium or loss of companionship.
If your vehicle can be repaired, you may receive compensation to fix it. If your car is totaled, you get compensation for its market value. If the damages are related to other parts of your personal property, like your home, phone, or jewelry, you may receive compensation for repairs or replacement.
If your loved one dies due to someone else’s negligence, you may file wrongful death benefits for their untimely demise. These damages cover expenses associated with medical bills the victim incurred before their death and funeral costs. Wrongful death damages can help ease the financial burdens associated with the loss of a loved one, particularly if the deceased was the family’s breadwinner.
You may be eligible for punitive damages in Baton Rouge if courts deem the defendant’s actions particularly egregious. This compensation is meant to make an example of the defendant. It isn’t meant to make the injured plaintiff whole but to punish the defendant for their actions.
Punitive damages also serve to deter others from engaging in similar activities. For you to receive these damages, the defendant’s actions must be intentional or the result of wanton and willful misconduct. An example could be a drunk driver who runs over and kills pedestrians or a medical professional who commits malpractice that leads to the death of an infant.
It may be difficult to determine the types of damages available in your case without speaking to experienced Baton Rouge injury lawyers.
If you have suffered an injury due to someone else’s negligent actions, a Baton Rouge injury lawyer can assist you with your legal case while protecting your rights. First, an experienced lawyer will assess your personal injury case to determine how to fight for you. Here are some of the benefits of hiring an attorney after an accident:
That’s not all, though. An attorney will use the necessary information to go head to head with the at-fault party’s attorneys and insurance adjusters to seek the best possible settlement for you. Often, this happens in settlement meetings. However, if the defendant’s side doesn’t budge or if they offer a settlement that doesn’t represent the full worth of your case, an injury lawyer in Baton Rouge can file a lawsuit to represent you in court.
After an accident, there are a handful of steps you need to be aware of that involve your case. These are central to injury cases involving motor vehicles, industrial accidents, and other personal injury accidents, and they include:
If you have been injured in an accident or lost a loved one due to negligence in Baton Rouge, contact us today at (844) 629-0256 or online to get the legal support you need.
Our experienced Baton Rouge injury lawyers and support staff are here to help you get your life back after an accident. The legal team at Morris & Dewett will stop at nothing to help you seek the maximum amount for your case. Contact us now to find out how we can help.
“We focus on being the best at 3 things: preparing hard for our cases, making sure we deliver what clients need, and making sure they are treated well throughout the process.”
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