Is Illness a Personal Injury In Louisiana?

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 Louisiana 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 Shreveport 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 website 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.