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August 6, 2019 in Personal Injury

Are Personal Injury Settlements Taxable in Louisiana?

Unfortunately, you were seriously injured because of the recklessness and/or negligence of a person or entity. While we know that no amount of money has made what you’ve suffered a positive experience, at least one good thing came out of it—you received a financial settlement to cover your medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost wages (and pain and suffering if applicable).

Are Personal Injury Settlements Taxable?

However, because you were compensated for your injury, you may now wonder whether the money you received is considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In most cases, any money you acquired because of a successful personal injury settlement cannot be taxed. Generally, this means that the IRS doesn’t take anything from the monetary damages you were awarded for medical bills, lost income and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Federal tax law excludes damages received because of injuries or illnesses from a taxpayer’s gross income.

However, there are many IRS loopholes, exceptions and exclusions that could make a part of your settlement or jury award taxable.

How The IRS Decides if Your Personal Injury Settlement is Taxable?

Depending upon the complexity of your personal injury case, it’s challenging to know is your personal injury settlement taxable? What the IRS taxes on personal injury settlements is based on the United States’ and Louisiana’s definitions of earned income. When the injuring party paid you (the injured person), for expenses related to your medical care, emotional distress and lost wages, the IRS considers this form of financial restitution to fall under compensatory damages, not income. Therefore, the amount of compensatory recovery you were awarded will not be taxed.

What Defines Compensatory Damages in a Personal Injury Case for Taxes?

To understand this facet of personal injury, it’s helpful to know the legal definition of compensatory damages. When a person is injured because of another’s recklessness and/or negligence and succeeds in winning an insurance claim or civil court lawsuit, they are reimbursed or compensated for their expenses, costs and suffering related to the specific physical and emotional harm they’ve endured. When a loved one (who meets certain criteria) died because of a person or entities’ conduct, compensatory damages also may be awarded to family members in wrongful death claims. In that case, wrongful death compensation is also non-taxable.

On the other hand, if a court orders a defendant to pay for your pain and suffering, because pain and suffering compensation is not considered compensatory, you’ll have to pay taxes on that amount.

Are Pain and Suffering Damages Taxable?

Because punitive damages paid to the injured person are intended to punish the defendant for their reckless and/or negligent conduct, such monies are not considered compensatory, whereas those for medical expenses, rehabilitation, and lost wages are.

The IRS looks at monetary recovery for pain and suffering much differently than for compensatory damages. When a judge orders a defendant to pay pain and suffering damages—which is extremely rare and occurs only when their conduct was extraordinarily egregious— this recovery is considered non-compensatory and will be taxed as income. Under IRS laws, money paid for pain and suffering is identified on your tax return as “other income.”

Personal Injury Settlement Taxes: Plans Matter

If you won a substantial, high-value financial recovery for your injuries or the loss of a loved one and invested that money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (EFTs), money market accounts or real estate and you were paid interest, dividends or capital gains, interest, dividends or capital gains earnings are taxable.

While it’s better than not making money on your principal dollar amount, the IRS wants its cut of your investment or bank account earnings known as “interest income” or “capital gains.”

If you’re injured in an accident, you shouldn’t have to worry about taxes, and at Gordon & Gordon Law, we’ll provide the legal representation you need and guidance on what your settlement may be subjected to when filing a tax return.

Contact Gordon and Gordon for Personal Injury Settlement Tax Questions

For expert, caring and respectful personal injury assistance in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357). Or if you prefer, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

July 31, 2019 in Personal Injury

Is Illness a Personal Injury In Louisiana?

Louisiana Attorney Represents Victims Made Sick By Another’s Recklessness Or Negligence

Illness or Personal Injury

Do you suspect you’re ill because of contaminated food, exposure to a toxic environment, defective products, or dangerous medications? Do you think the conditions surrounding your illness were caused by someone else? Did you know that if your illness is the fault of another, you may be entitled to financial recovery through a personal injury claim and/or civil court lawsuit?

It’s true.

When you’ve been made ill because of recklessness or negligence of another person or entity because of contaminated food, exposure to a toxic environment, defective products or a medical provider’s error, you may win a substantial monetary settlement. In such cases, you’ll be up against a powerful insurance company whose goal is to deny your claim. And if you can’t settle with the insurance company, you may be forced to pursue financial damages through a civil court lawsuit.

If you hope to recover your fair financial damages—whether through the injuring party’s insurance or litigation—you need a skilled, experienced personal injury attorney who’ll guide you through the complex, confusing claims process and court proceedings.

To determine what constitutes an illness caused by recklessness or negligence of another, the following are scenarios that may fall under the auspices of Louisiana laws toward a compensatory personal injury claim:

Personal Injury Illness: Contaminated Food

While the American food supply is among the safest in the world, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that an estimated 48 million cases of food borne illnesses occur annually—the equivalent of making 1 in 6 Americans sick each year. And these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths yearly.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized food contamination as a global challenge.

The cause of such illnesses is contaminated or mislabeled food. When the business selling and/or serving the food has not exercised reasonable care in production, processing, distribution, preparation and handling, they may be held liable for a “defective” food product.

The following describes the various ways food can become contaminated:

▪Biological contamination of food can result in food poisoning from bacteria in food such as salmonella, E.coli, listeria, hepatitis, norovirus, botulism, clostridium perfringens, shigellosis, campylobacter or cryptosporidium. In some cases, the symptoms may subside within a few days, but in more severe contamination, a person may develop serious, long-lasting illnesses and could even die.

▪Physical contamination of food occurs when a foreign object such as plastic, glass, metal and other items that are introduced during production. When a person bites into a hard or sharp object, they may suffer severe injuries to the inside of their mouth or teeth. If the object is ingested, it may cause issues such as a perforated intestine which could lead to life-threatening medical issues.

▪Chemical contamination occurs when dangerous chemical substances are introduced into food from pesticides and other toxic substances.

Injury Illness: Toxic Environment

Though you may be sure your illness has been caused by a toxic environment, these types of personal injury cases are complex because you may have gotten sick many months or even years after the exposure. And proving your illness was caused by the toxin is challenging.

Examples of toxic exposure may include but are not limited to the following factors:

▪Waste and chemical dumping into drinking and groundwater or soil.

▪Release of noxious gases or toxins into the air.

▪Breathing black mold and other types of mold.

▪Asbestos inhalation.

▪Lead paint dust.

▪Pesticides.

▪Cleaning products.

▪Lead based cosmetics.

▪Dryer sheets, room odor masking sprays, perfumes.

If you believe you’re seriously ill because of a person or entity’s reckless or negligent conduct, it’s vital that you speak to a knowledgeable personal injury attorney before the one-year Louisiana statute of limitations’ deadline expires.

Illness Related Personal Injury Compensation

The compensation you may justly deserve depends on various factors that an experienced personal injury attorney can discuss with you.

Monetary damages may include:

▪Medical expenses generated because of your illness such as for hospitalization, surgery, medicine, physical therapy/rehabilitation, and psychological services.

▪Lost wages because the illness prevented you from working for any period, as well as future earnings that will be lost.

▪Pain and suffering to compensate for the non-monetary damages you’ve suffered because of the illness such as depression, insomnia, grief, worry, anguish, inconvenience, loss of companionship or consortium and diminished quality of life.

A Qualified Gordon & Gordon Personal Injury Attorney Can Review Your Case And Create A Solid Strategy To Hold Those Who Caused Your Illness Accountable

Should the defendant’s party’s insurance company not want to settle fairly with you, a civil court lawsuit should commence. To pursue a lawsuit requires timely document filing, writing complex motions and interrogatories, courtroom hearings and presentations to a judge and/or jury.

Illness is a Personal Injury in Louisiana

As your personal injury law firm, we’ll collect the facts about your case and determine how we can help. If your case qualifies, as our client, we’ll provide you with superior legal representation with the intention of winning the financial compensation you deserve.

For expert, caring and respectful personal injury assistance, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357), Ark-La-Tex’s premier personal injury law firm Gordon & Gordon Law. The initial no-obligation consultation is free in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices. As your personal injury law firm, we’ll never charge you a cent up-front because we work on a contingency basis, which means we only get paid when you get paid. Or if you feel more comfortable, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly. And if you can’t come to us, we’ll visit you at home or at a hospital or rehabilitation center.

July 19, 2019 in Personal Injury, Workers Compensation

Workers Comp Exemption for Louisiana

The Louisiana Workforce Commission’s (LWC) Department of Labor requires nearly all employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, but there are some notable exemptions. If you believe you are entitled to workers’ compensation in Louisiana, you will need to ensure that your employer is not exempt by Louisiana law from carrying workers’ compensation insurance.

What is a Worker’s Compensation Exemption in Louisiana?

Almost all employers in Louisiana are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance; money that can be paid out to an employee injured on the job. However, the following employers are exempt from carrying this insurance, and their employees are not covered if they are injured on the job:

Real estate brokers or sales agents licensed in Louisiana.
Employees of a private residential household.
Employees of a private unincorporated farm.
Musicians and entertainers with performance contracts.
Employees working in railroads or on trains while engaged in interstate or foreign trade.
Airplane crews working in dusting or spraying operations.
Mineral exploration, development and transportation “landmen.”
Employees covered by the Federal Employees Liability Act, the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act , and the Jones Act.

Therefore, if you are injured on the job and your employer is included in the above, you will unfortunately not be entitled to any workers’ compensation.

Why Are Some Employers Granted Exemptions to Workers’ Compensation?

Oftentimes, employers will be exempt from carrying workers’ compensation due to the size of their business, or the number of employees their business has. For example, in Louisiana, if the only employee of a company is its owner, the owner would not be required to take out workers’ compensation insurance on themselves. Some independent contractors may be required to carry insurance, and any employers that hire them would not be required to carry workers’ compensation on those independent contractors.

Am I Entitled to Workers Compensation in Louisiana?

If you’ve been seriously injured on the job in any but the above occupations, you are entitled by the Department of Labor law to have your medical expenses, lost income (past, present and future), rehabilitation costs, vocational retraining if necessary and possibly more.

Gordon and Gordon workers’ compensation lawyers have 60 years of combined experience providing vigilant, dedicated assistance to injured employees in the Shreveport area and beyond.

As your workers’ compensation attorney team, we will fight with your employer’s insurance company to acquire the medical care and financial compensation you are legally entitled to. With extensive experience handling thousands of Shreveport workers’ compensation cases, we understand your situation, care about your well-being, and will persistently and aggressively battle for your rights as an injured employee.

While you focus on recovery, Gordon and Gordon will handle all insurance negotiations on your behalf, document your injuries, expenses and lost income and file all the necessary complex forms in a deadline intensive manner so you don’t have to worry or be stressed by the confusing, arduous process. With respect and compassion, we’ll work with you through every step so you’re assured your case is being handled effectively and fairly.

Contact Gordon and Gordon for Worker’s Compensation Claims

Call us today at 318.617.HELP to schedule your free, no-obligation meeting in our conveniently located Shreveport office to discuss your unique situation and so we can answer any questions you may have. Or if you prefer, send us a confidential note on our contact form.

July 2, 2019 in Personal Injury, Workers Compensation

Workers Comp Employer Obligations in Louisiana

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) Department of Labor enforces the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act (LWCA) requiring all employers who have one or more employees, and operate within Louisiana state boundaries, to protect their employees with workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

An employee is defined as any person hired to perform services or labor for pay, whether full- or part-time, although there are some exceptions.

What Defines a Workplace Injury in Lousiana?

The Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act defines a workplace accident as an “unexpected or unforeseen, identifiable precipitous event happening suddenly or violently, with or without human fault and directly producing at the time objective findings of an injury, which is more than simply a gradual deterioration or progressive degeneration.”

Under LWCA, it is irrelevant whether the accident was the employee’s or the employer’s fault with certain restrictions involving intoxication, horseplay, willful intent, or aggression.

An employer’s workers’ compensation policy protects employees who are injured in accidents or conditions arising “out of or in the course of employment.”

Louisiana Compensation Laws for Workplace Injuries

The United States enacted workers’ compensation laws in 1910 with Louisiana following suit and created its own program in 1914.

The law guarantees that an injured employee will receive appropriate medical care and expenses, rehabilitation, vocational retraining if necessary, and are entitled to recover lost wages (2/3 of regular pay tax-free). If an employee dies on the job or because of job conditions, their qualifying loved one(s) are entitled to death benefits.

If an employer fails to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees, they may be fined and/or imprisoned for federal and Louisiana Department of Labor violations.

It is a serious offense, both civilly and criminally, for an employer not to have a workers’ compensation policy or to ask or encourage an employee to pay for their own coverage.

How Long Does an Employer Have to File a Workers Comp Claim?

If any employee suspects that their employer does not have workers’ compensation coverage or if the employer requires or encourages an employee to pay for or purchase a workers’ compensation insurance policy, this serious violation should be reported to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration (OWCA) Fraud & Compliance Department.

Gordon and Gordon Injury Attorneys

If you’ve been injured and you don’t feel as if your employer (or former employer) isn’t doing everything they can to get you up and going again, or if you feel like you’re getting the short end of the stick with respect to worker’s compensation, give Gordon and Gordon a call. We know the law surrounding personal injury cases and know how to get you the compensation you deserve.

For more information about employer workers’ compensation employee insurance coverage requirements, or if you have sustained an injury or illness because of your work conditions, call 318.716.HELP to schedule your free, no-obligation meeting with our Gordon and Gordon attorney team in our conveniently located Shreveport office. Or send us a confidential note on our contact form, and we’ll respond promptly.

June 19, 2019 in Personal Injury, Workers Compensation

Duty of Care and Personal Injury

When a person reasonably expects they are safe but are injured because of recklessness or negligence of another, the victim is lawfully permitted to pursue monetary compensation against that person or entity.

What is Duty of Care?

Louisiana laws protect people injured because of another’s irresponsible conduct under a provision called “duty of care.”

From hazardous properties, car accidents, medical malpractice, and defective or dangerous products, a breach (or violation) of duty of care mean the person or entity (defendant) responsible for an accident or illness should or could have foreseen the risk to the person harmed (plaintiff). Simply, to determine fault, it must be proven that the defendant could have prevented harm if they had conducted themselves responsibly in regard to reasonable safety measures.

If a lawsuit is pursued, the court will determine whether the defendant acted with a standard defined by the law as the “reasonable care” that an “ordinary person” would have demonstrated in the same scenario.

Breach of Duty for Personal Injury Claims

To succeed in winning monetary benefits for an accident or injury caused by another, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant breached a duty of reasonable care that caused an injury or illness which led to the victim’s damages—physically, emotionally and financially.

Duty of Care Law in Louisiana

To prove the defendant was negligent and, therefore, caused your injury or illness, a plaintiff must prove the following four factors:

Duty That the defendant owed a duty of safety in the injuring situation.
Breach That the defendant breached that lawful duty by acting or failing to act in a certain way.
Causation The defendant’s actions, or inaction, caused a victim’s injury or illness.
Damages The plaintiff was injured or made ill because of the defendant’s actions or inaction.

Injured Due to Breach of Duty of Care?

With over 30 years’ combined experience representing Northwest Louisiana victims injured because of an individual, corporation or government agency’s carelessness, recklessness or criminal conduct, we have the skills and resources to negotiate and fight for your fair compensation. Gordon & Gordon’s personal injury attorneys have documented success winning multi-millions for our clients.

In Louisiana, the deadline for filing a personal injury claim is one year from the date of injury. In some rare cases, there are exemptions to this deadline. However, the longer you wait, the less likely it will be that you’ll collect the damages you deserve.

To learn more about the compensation you may deserve, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357) for a free, no-obligation meeting in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices with Northwest Louisiana’s premier personal injury attorneys, Gordon & Gordon Law. Or if it’s more comfortable for you, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

June 3, 2019 in Personal Injury

What is a Loss of Consortium Claim?

What is Loss of Consortium?

When a married person has been seriously injured or killed because of recklessness or negligence of another person or entity (the defendant), and it causes their spouse to be deprived of certain marital benefits, the legal term is “loss of consortium.”

Loss of consortium after a wrongful injury may include loss of the spouse’s love, companionship, emotional and moral support, comfort, care, protection, affection, the share of household and child-rearing responsibilities, and sexual intimacy or the ability to reproduce (if applicable).

Loss of Consortium Settlements

However, for a loss of consortium claim to be seriously considered in a civil court proceeding, the injured spouse must have suffered a devastating, long-lasting injury such as paralysis, incontinence, loss of sexual function, inability to walk or significant cognitive impairment.

In a personal injury lawsuit, a loss of consortium claim allows the non-injured spouse (plaintiff) to recover non-economic damages which are referred to as “subjective compensation” for the deprivation of marital benefits they previously enjoyed. Subjective compensation may also include mental anguish, inconvenience, emotional distress, ruined social life, and injury to reputation and humiliation.

How to Calculate Loss of Consortium Damages

For a civil court jury to determine the losses a spouse has actually incurred, they must consider the following factors and traits of the physically injured spouse before an accident:

Disposition and temperament
Social life and activities
Household services rendered
Child-rearing responsibilities
Acts of affection, love and sexual intercourse

However, a monetary judgment will not include financial losses such as wages the injured or deceased person may have contributed, medical expenses, personal services such as home nursing care, domestic household assistance and so on.

Louisiana Loss of Consortium Claim

In Louisiana, there are four elements a spouse needs to prove in a loss of consortium lawsuit:

The spouse was injured by another person or entity negligent, reckless or intentional misconduct.
The injured person was lawfully married to the plaintiff at the time of the injury.
The plaintiff suffered the loss of their spouse’s consortium.
The loss of consortium was because of the defendant’s wrongful act.

Loss of Consortium Claim Calculator

Because the loss of consortium damages are considered subjective in value, meeting such a claim’s legal requirements is extremely challenging.

To build a strong case for loss of consortium recovery requires the expertise of skilled, aggressive personal injury attorneys.

Loss of Consortium Lawyer

For over 30 years, Gordon & Gordon Law Firm’s founding partners, Stephen Gordon and Daniel Gordon have been vigilant advocates for their clients, winning multi-million-dollar recoveries for those injured because of another’s misconduct.

What’s more, as your personal injury law firm, we’ll never charge you a cent up-front because we work on a contingency basis which means we only get paid when you get paid.

Contact Us Today So You Don’t Risk Losing Your Just Recovery—Statute of Limitations For Loss Of Consortium Claims Are Strict

To begin the fight for the loss of consortium compensation you deserve, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357) for a free, no-obligation meeting in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices with Northwest Louisiana’s premier personal injury attorneys, Gordon & Gordon Law. Or if it’s more comfortable for you, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

April 17, 2019 in Personal Injury, Workers Compensation

Third Party Work Injury

Have you been injured due to work-related conditions and think your only option for monetary damages recovery is through workers’ compensation?

It’s not necessarily true.

Recovering Damages Over Workers’ Compensation in Louisiana

While you may assume that workers’ compensation benefits are your only source of a financial recovery, it’s possible the responsibility for your injuries may be the fault of a third party. In that case, you may be entitled to compensation beyond the limitations of a workers’ compensation claim.

Work Injuries Caused by A Third Party Require A Competent Lawyer

Third-party liability (responsibility) occurs when a non-employer person or entity causes your work-related accident. For instance, third-party liability may include but is not limited to:

Manufacturers/designers of dangerous, defective equipment.
Contractors and subcontractors.
Service providers.
Non-employee vehicle drivers.
Owners of property visited while performing work tasks.

Because workers’ compensation recovery is limited, if an employee’s injuries are severe, they may not recover all their medical expenses and lost income. What’s more, workers’ compensation law does not provide recovery for non-economic damages. Non-economic, or “general,” damages include pain and suffering, diminished quality of life, mental anguish, loss of consortium (companionship) and in egregious incidents of reckless or negligent conduct, punitive damages. https://www.justia.com/injury/negligence-theory/third-party-liability/

Shreveport Personal Injury Attorneys At Gordon & Gordon for Work Injury Claims

The consequences of a work injury can significantly alter your life and should be taken seriously. The Shreveport Gordon & Gordon accident attorneys can intervene and help you achieve what you rightfully deserve when workers’ compensation isn’t enough to cover your financial needs. Our success proving third-party fault demonstrates we have the skills and experience to build a strong case beyond a workers’ compensation claim.

If you believe a third-party may be responsible for your injuries, it may be possible to win monetary recovery beyond workers’ compensation benefits. With 30 years combined experience representing injured workers, we have the knowledge, resources and investigative skills necessary to accurately determine what caused your accident. Upon investigation, our lawyers will determine whether you have a viable claim against a third-party.

Third-Party Accident Investigation

At our Shreveport law firm, we have a track record of consistently obtaining major financial settlements for clients injured because of work-related third party causes. And we also are widely known and respected within the legal, insurance and civil court arena for our unique approach to optimal compensation pursuit for complex work-related accident claim

For those who are permanently disabled or face a long, costly recovery, such a third-party lawsuit may be critical to your overall well-being because it may yield far greater overall compensation than a limited workers’ compensation claim.

While we never offer false hope or unrealistic expectations about recovery outcome, when we evaluate your case and meet with you, we’ll tell you honestly whether we believe you have a winnable case. No matter what, we’ll listen attentively to what happened and seriously consider your concerns, doing all we can to help.

Gordon and Gordon Personal Injury Attorneys

And if we think we can win compensation for your injuries, you’ll never pay us a cent up-front. We’ll handle all the costs of preparing your case from hiring medical and private investigators and accident scene experts, to interviewing witnesses and handling depositions, managing arbitration and mediation, paying court filing costs, and, when applicable, covering all the costs of trial litigation. Only after we win your case, will we get paid from a pre-agreed percentage of your settlement.

To begin the fight for the injury compensation you deserve, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357) for a free, no-obligation meeting in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices with the Northwest Louisiana’s premier personal injury advocates, Gordon & Gordon Law. Or if it’s more comfortable for you, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

April 8, 2019 in Personal Injury

Personal Injury Interrogatories

The legal term “interrogatories” simply means “questions.” Attorneys use the interrogatories because the structure of these questions when compiling discovery for personal injury litigation is very specific. An experienced personal injury attorney strategically forms these questions to obtain the facts necessary to build a strong case for their clients. An effective interrogatory must be drafted based on the premise that such questions and answers are necessary to build compelling discovery for competent litigation.

Ark-La-Tex Injury Answers

During the process of personal injury discovery, each side—the plaintiff and defendant—prepares written questions to solicit written answers about the accident or illness that occurred, allegedly caused by the defendant’s negligent or reckless misconduct.

For example, the structure of an interrogatory question should be posted as a statement to create space for an open-ended response rather than a barely useful yes or no. In the following hypothetical case, a person suffered injuries because of a slip-and-fall accident on a commercial property’s icy sidewalk. An interrogatory (question) should be drafted to glean as much information as possible to support an injury case.

To clarify, here’s how an interrogatory “question” is different from the structure of a general, non-legal question:

Non-Effective Plaintiff’s Interrogatory Question: Do you keep your sidewalks clear of ice and snow?

Effective Plaintiff’s Interrogatory “Question”: Describe in detail the number of maintenance staff who were available on the date of the incident who were immediately available to clear ice and snow from sidewalks.

The latter interrogatory strives to prove that the facility where the slip-and-fall accident took place did not have adequate outside maintenance employees to responsibly remove snow and ice thereby negligently causing the plaintiff’s injuries.

A skilled defense attorney, who seeks to deny responsibility for the slip-and-fall victim’s injuries, will respond with interrogatory structured questions to determine if the alleged victim had a pre-existing condition such as:

Non-Effective Defendant Interrogatory Response: Before you allegedly slipped on our sidewalk, had you previously injured your back?

Effective Interrogatory Defendant Response: “State in detail whether you visited or received medical treatment for back pain in the last four years.”

The defendant’s response strives to determine whether the accident injury was preceded by a pre-existing back condition. If a pre-existing condition can be proven, the property owner’s liability may be reduced or eliminated.

Federal and Louisiana Law Deadlines For Interrogatory Responses

Federal and Louisiana laws require a response from both sides of interrogatories within 30 days after being served. A shorter or longer time may be stipulated or ordered by a civil court judge.

Also, interrogatory federal and state rules require that the written questions and answers are made under oath to affirm their truthfulness and are signed in the presence of a notary public.

Louisiana Civil Court Law Article 1457

Louisiana civil court law Article 1457 limits the number to 35 of interrogatory documents each side can submit without a court’s permission to demand more.

Once the interrogatory process is complete and discovery compiled, a civil lawsuit can proceed to trial. Because interrogatories are critical to building a solid personal injury case, they must be prepared with exceedingly high attention to detail.

Gordon & Gordon Personal Injury Law Firm Can Help with Interrogatories

If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by the negligence or recklessness of another person or entity, the qualified, experienced attorneys at Gordon & Gordon Law can build an effective case on your behalf by writing decisively worded interrogatories.

With 30 years’ personal injury experience behind us and a reputation of multi-million-dollar settlements, founding partners Stephen Gordon and Daniel Gordon are prepared to act as your vigilant advocates to win fair monetary compensation for the harm you’ve endured.

What’s more, as your personal injury law firm, we’ll never charge you a cent up-front because we work on a contingency basis which means we only get paid when you get paid.

Louisiana Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

As your personal injury law firm, we’ll discuss what happened, learn the details of your case, and provide you with superior service and skilled representation backed by our full commitment to win your case. And if you’re too injured to visit us, we’ll visit you in the hospital, at home, or a rehabilitation facility.

To begin the fight for the injury compensation you deserve, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357) for a free, no-obligation meeting in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices with Northwest Lousiana’s premier personal injury advocates, Gordon & Gordon Law. Or if it’s more comfortable for you, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

April 3, 2019 in Personal Injury

Shreveport Personal Injury Damages

When you’ve been seriously injured because of someone’s negligent, reckless, or intentional misconduct, you may be legally entitled to recover your medical expenses, lost income, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering and more.

According to personal injury laws, you can recover two separate types of damages when you’ve been injured.

Personal Injury Damages in Louisiana

Economic or “special” damages: Actual expenses, costs, and losses incurred such as medical, wage loss, rehabilitation, psychiatric care, vocational retraining, home or car modification because of disability and any other actual items involving money.

Non-economic or “general” damages: Pain and suffering cover consequences of an injury other than specific, tangible expenses as described above under “special” damages. In general, pain and suffering damages include loss of comfort, happiness, and opportunity and is described in greater detail below.

To begin the process of collecting damages from an insurance company and/or the person or entity that caused your injury, a demand letter must be drafted, compiled and presented to those responsible for the harm down to you.
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/law

The Demand Letter for Personal Injury Cases in Louisiana

If you hope to collect the financial damages you believe you deserve, it’s important to follow a specific formula to calculate your losses in the demand letter. If you demand more than is considered reasonable neither an insurance company or judge will take you seriously. An over-demand of compensation will likely either be met with an outright denial or an unreasonably low counter offer.

To present a justifiable demand, specific amounts for economic (“special”) expenses should include:

Specific Amounts for MEDICAL Expenses in Personal Injury Cases

▪Ambulance transport
▪Emergency medical services
▪Emergency room visit
▪Hospitalization
▪Medical care and treatment
▪Transportation costs to and from doctor visits
▪Medical equipment
▪Prescriptions
▪Physician Fees
▪Rehabilitation costs
▪Psychiatrist or therapist fees

With each claim, copies of billing statements (specifically for the services provided for your injury) should be attached. If any of your medical care and treatment was covered by your own health insurance, but you paid deductibles and co-pays, those should be included and documented.

PROPERTY DAMAGE Expense in Personal Injury Cases

If because of your injury accident any property you owned was damaged, this is a compensable expense.

LOST PAY Expense in Personal Injury Cases

While receiving medical care and/or during rehabilitation, you may require time off work to treat and recover from your injury. When you can’t work, you lose income and are entitled to recover the lost amount(s). Lost pay means your regular hourly pay or salary and includes any estimated missed commissions, bonuses, vacation time if any and used sick days. It’s unusual for an employer to offer unlimited sick time, but if you are that lucky, you won’t be compensated for those days. Also, if your injury prevents you from returning to work or the same job, you may be compensated for a loss of future commensurate income.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING Expense in Personal Injury Cases

Should you not be able to return to the same career or employment because of your serious injuries, you are entitled to the cost of vocational training toward a new occupation.

PAIN AND SUFFERING for Personal Injury Cases

A figure for pain and suffering is more challenging to recover because it’s viewed by an insurance company and/or their insured as subjective. You may think your pain, discomfort, diminished quality of life, related family issues, psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, inability to enjoy social experiences or loss of your partner is worth a certain total dollar amount. The intangible “general” dollar value of pain and suffering is different from the tangible, document-able “special” expenses described above. An inflated demand for pain and suffering may be rejected by an insurance company, and if your claim ends up in court, possibly denied by a judge.

Formula for Calculating Damages

To arrive at a figure that an insurance company would unquestionably agree with, no matter how realistic you think yours is, rarely occurs. It is an insurance adjuster’s job to deny your claim altogether or significantly reduce a payout to you.

For instance, to avoid paying you what you deserve, the insurance company and their insured may argue that you somehow shared responsibility for your accident, called “comparative negligence,” and reduce the amount they offer. Another tactic insurance companies use to deny your claim or reduce it is to drag things out as long as possible, hoping they’ll wear you down, and you’ll accept whatever they offer—or nothing.

Without an aggressive, skilled personal injury attorney to help handle these negotiations, they may even ignore you completely.

Gordon and Gordon: Personal Injury Attorneys for Damages Calculations

The highly skilled personal injury attorneys at Gordon & Gordon Law will not allow an insurance company to ignore or beat you down.

Throughout Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas we’ve developed a sound reputation for hands-on, aggressive representation for our seriously injured clients. Always mindful of achieving the best result for you, we make a concerted effort to understand your unique situation, develop a viable strategy and aggressively pursue the monetary damages you deserve. Both Gordon & Gordon attorneys are Ark-La-Tex residents with a firm commitment of integrity to our community and service to those within it who’ve been seriously injured.

In fact, our reputation within the insurance industry and legal community is one of a relentless, effective pursuit of injured clients’ monetary recovery. Therefore, when founding partners Stephen Gordon and Daniel Gordon get involved with an injury case, insurance companies understand you’re serious about collecting damages, and then, they are more likely to cooperate to avoid expensive litigation.

THE SUPERIOR COURT LAWSUIT

But if not, and the insurance company refuses to settle for a fair amount and attempts to mediate or arbitrate fail, our dedicated, passionate attorneys are prepared to proceed with a Louisiana superior court lawsuit. When that happens, the insurance company and their insured will be in for an aggressive, expensive courtroom battle.

To commence a lawsuit requires timely legal document filing within Louisiana personal injury claim deadlines, complex motions and interrogatories, courtroom hearings and presentation to a judge, and when there’s no other option, a trial before a jury.

Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

As your personal injury law firm, we’ll discuss what happened, learn the details of your case, and provide you with superior service and skilled legal representation backed by our full commitment to win your case. And if you’re too injured to visit us, we’ll visit you in the hospital, at home, or a rehabilitation facility.

For expert, objective and respectful help recovering the fair, legal compensation you deserve, call 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357), Northwest Louisiana’s premier personal injury law firm, Gordon & Gordon Law to schedule a free, no-obligation personal consultation in one of our Shreveport, Mansfield or Bossier City offices. As your personal injury law firm, we’ll never charge you a cent up-front because we work on a contingency basis which means we only get paid when you get paid. Or if you feel more comfortable, send us a message on our notepad, and someone from our office will be in touch with you promptly.

March 26, 2019 in Car Accident, Personal Injury

Shreveport Attorney Explains Important Differences Between Bodily Injury and Personal Injury

When injury types must be classified for the purpose of pursuing an insurance claim or filing a civil suit, it’s important to differentiate the differences between bodily injury and personal injury.

Civil Injury Claims and Lawsuits in Louisiana

Though they are often used interchangeably, when an injury victim wants to receive monetary compensation for their damages, the legal definitions and implications determine what’s required and how to proceed civilly. If you are considering pursuing a personal injury claim, understanding the differences could improve your chance of recovery.

The attorneys at Gordon & Gordon Law Firm explain the differences here.

What is Considered Bodily Injury in Louisiana

Under Louisiana law, the bodily injury means tangible injuries such as bleeding, bruises, lacerations, broken bones, paralysis, amputations and fatalities. In some cases, it may include emotional or psychiatric injury.

A bodily injury means physical damage to a person’s body but caused under different circumstances than when a personal injury occurs. In legal terms it is defined as a cut, abrasion, bruise, bruise burn or disfigurement; severe and disabling pain; illness; impairment of body function; or any injury to the body caused by someone else under certain circumstances or incidents. Under the United States criminal code, bodily injury describes injuries that result in specific physical damage or sexual abuse, all compensable in civil proceedings.

For instance, in vehicle accidents, bodily injury liability insurance companies pay compensation for the injuries of other drivers, passengers, or pedestrians in cases where the insured is to blame for an accident. When a civil lawsuit is pursued against an individual, these same definitions apply. In both an insurance claim and bodily injury civil lawsuit, you are entitled to monetary compensation for out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and other medically related costs. In addition, you may receive compensation for future loss of income, disfigurement, amputation, permanent disability, and other impairments.

What is Considered Personal Injury in Louisiana

When a person has been injured because an individual or entity has acted in a negligent, reckless, careless or intentional manner, it is considered a personal injury. One difference between personal injury and bodily injury is that the harm doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical wound. Personal injury civil rules apply for the following types of incidents:
Accidents that may include vehicle collisions, property liability such as slip and fall incidents, medical malpractice and other similar incidents.
Defective products qualify as personal injury when a consumer product, equipment or drugs were irresponsibly marketed and/or inadequately tested and caused person harm even when there was no conscious intention to injure.

Defamation when damaging, untrue statements were made to harm a person’s reputation and/or livelihood.

“Intentional“ criminal acts when a person’s intentional conduct caused injuries to a victim such as assault and battery and other physical attacks including homicide.

When a victim’s case qualifies for personal injury litigation—tort action–, they are entitled to file a civil lawsuit for monetary compensation for their losses. The courts provide for an injured person under tort law to be “made whole” financially after they’ve suffered harm because of another’s negligent, reckless, careless or intentional actions.

Louisiana Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury

When an accident causes a fatality, a surviving loved one has the right to make a personal injury claim and sue for the losses created by the death.
The Statute of Limitations Are Strict—Missing A Deadline Can Permanently Bar You From Achieving Any Monetary Settlement

In Louisiana, you are required to file a personal injury or bodily injury claim within one year from the time you were harmed. If you fail to make a claim within this time limitation, you will very likely permanently lose the right to file a civil lawsuit.

No-Upfront Costs for Personal Injury Cases in Shreveport, Bossier and Mansfield

Gordon & Gordon Law Firm brings 30 years’ combined personal and bodily injury experience to the fight for your just compensation throughout Louisiana. As the founding partners, attorneys Daniel and Stephen Gordon and their legal team make a concerted effort to thoroughly understand your unique circumstances, always treating you with compassion and sensitivity during this challenging time in your life. As lifetime Louisiana residents, our firm takes great pride in treating our clients with the utmost respect as we provide highly skilled representation towards the most optimal outcome.

And because we know you have too many concerns already, you’ll never have to pay us a cent up-front. If we take on your case, we’ll cover all the costs of preparing your case. Only when you get paid, will we get paid a pre-agreed fee.

Contact Gordon & Gordon Law for Personal or Bodily Injury Claims

For help with the complexities of filing an injury claim, your odds of winning compensation are increased when you have a Louisiana personal injury attorney to guide you through the complex and confusing process, filings, proceedings, and deadlines. For a prompt, personal appointment, call us today at 318-716-HELP (318-716-4357) for your free, no-obligation consultation with our personal injury team.

Our offices are located in Shreveport, Bossier City or Mansfield. If you prefer to email us a confidential message, send it here on our contact form. But if you’re too injured to visit us, we’ll come to you whether you’re recovering at home or are in a hospital or rehabilitation facility.

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