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If you are a victim who has been injured in an 18-wheeler truck accident here in Shreveport, Louisiana, Caddo Parish, or any other part of Louisiana, you have a legal right to make an insurance claim and file a personal injury lawsuit. You must act quickly because you only have one year to file your lawsuit from the accident date. Your best chance of recovering the maximum amount of compensation for your injuries and other damages is to retain the legal services of a committed Caddo Parish accident lawyer.
Below, the Louisiana personal injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams discusses some of the top reasons why you may want to consider hiring a Louisiana 18-wheeler accident lawyer after an accident. Experience Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accident cases are legally complex. Moreover, the types of injuries sustained by victims tend to be very severe. Hiring an experienced law firm with a record of success can help ensure you receive the maximum compensation. As one example, if the injuries are severe enough, you may be entitled to compensation for FUTURE medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other types of damages. You may not know about your right to compensation for future medical bills, but experienced Louisiana personal injury lawyers do know it. Claiming these FUTURE damages is one way that your compensation can be maximized. Protection from "Tricks" that Insurance Companies Play When accident victims suffer injuries, representatives of the insurance carrier for the at-fault party often call the victims to arrange a settlement. But insurance companies want to pay as little as possible. Experienced Louisiana 18-wheeler lawyers are "wise" to the "tricks" that the insurance companies play. We will fight for you and defend you against the efforts of the insurance companies to pay you less than your claim is worth. Without vigorous legal advocacy, you may leave "money on the table," and that is not what you want to do. Solid Information About Complicated Legal Cases Another reason that Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accident cases are legally complex is because there may be many parties who are legally responsible for the injuries caused by the accident. The truck driver may be at fault, but there may be other at-fault parties. These potential parties include the driver's employer, the truck's owner, the company that loaded the truck, the company that made the truck, the repair shop that maintained the truck's mechanical condition, and more. Experienced Louisiana 18-wheeler lawyers can ensure that claims are made against ALL at-fault parties. And, if personal injury litigation must be filed, ALL at-fault parties can be brought into the lawsuit. Giving Yourself Time to Heal and Peace of Mind Being injured in a Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accident is traumatic, both physically and emotionally. But the difficulties do not end after the accident. Healing takes time and is also physically and emotionally draining. Plus, there may be financial and family problems caused by the injury and the recovery. By hiring a Louisiana truck accident lawyer, you give yourself and your family time to heal and obtain some peace of mind, knowing that a professional is taking care of the legal issues and working with dedication to obtain the full and maximum compensation that you have a legal right to. Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyer can help you recover the full compensation to which you are entitled under Louisiana law. To contact us, complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may benefit significantly from having an attorney with legal competence and experience assisting you with your Louisiana personal injury case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading this blog post and visiting our website. Suppose you have been arrested or accused of statutory rape in Shreveport or any other part of Louisiana. In that case, the first thing to remember is that you may significantly benefit from speaking to an experienced Louisiana criminal defense attorney before conversing with law enforcement officials. This is because Louisiana laws with regard to statutory rape are complicated. If you speak with the police, there is a danger that you will accidentally admit to elements of the crime.
"Statutory rape", or what Louisiana law refers to as "carnal knowledge of a juvenile", is a crime that occurs when a person has consensual sexual intercourse (vaginal, oral, or anal) with a person under the age of 17 and certain age ranges for the victim and perpetrator are met. If the alleged victim is under the age of 13, the crime is charged as first-degree rape, and only two elements need to be proven: sexual conduct involving penetration (however slight) and that the alleged victim was under the age of 13. The criminal defendant's lack of knowledge of the age of the alleged victim (or the belief that the victim was older) is not a defense. Being legally married to the alleged victim is also not a defense. Conviction of first-degree rape carries a maximum possible prison sentence of life. Louisiana Rev. Stat., § 14:42. The laws are more complicated if the alleged victim is 13 years old but younger than 17 years old. In these cases, statutory rape is called having "carnal knowledge of a juvenile." Depending on the age of the alleged perpetrator, having carnal knowledge of a juvenile can be a felony or misdemeanor crime. Basically, if the alleged perpetrator is more than four years older than the victim, the sexual intercourse is felony rape. More specifically, felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile -- Louisiana Rev. Stat., § 14:80 -- has these elements which must be proven by the prosecuting attorneys:
Conviction of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile carries a potential 10-year prison sentence (plus fines). Misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile -- Louisiana Rev. Stat., § 14:80.1 --contains similar elements as the felony-grade offense, except that the alleged perpetrator was/is over the age of 17 and was/is older than the victim by more than two years, but less than four years. A first-time conviction of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile carries a potential 6-month jail term (plus fines). Contact A Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Today For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams today. We are relentless, meticulous, and aggressive Louisiana criminal defense lawyers. Complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may significantly benefit by having an attorney with legal competence and experience assist you with your Louisiana criminal case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle criminal defense cases throughout all of Louisiana. Common Causes of Louisiana 18-Wheeler Truck Accidents and How They Impact Your Claim and Settlement8/14/2023
If you have been injured in an 18-wheeler truck accident here in Shreveport or in other parts of Louisiana, you have a right to file an insurance claim and seek a settlement. If a loved one has been killed in such an accident, you have the same right on your own behalf and on behalf of your deceased loved one -- the right to seek compensation for wrongful death and to seek recovery on the basis of a survival action.
Hiring a trusted and experienced Louisiana personal injury lawyer will help maximize your chances of obtaining a FULL and COMPLETE recovery. The Law Offices of Philip B. Adams offers free, no-obligation consultations. Insurance companies and trucking companies fight hard to pay as little as they can to victims. Competent Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accident attorneys have the resources and legal skills to fight back and win. Suppose an insurance settlement cannot be reached. In that case, the next step may be seeking justice for the victims through the filing of personal injury litigation in Louisiana State and Federal courts. Victims can recover compensation even if the 18-wheeler truck is from out-of-state. One of the most important tasks of a Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accident law firm is to investigate the various possible causes of the accident. This is a crucial task because the possible causes of the accident will uncover the possible defendants in the case. In Louisiana litigation and insurance settlement, the "defendants" are the potential "at fault" parties who are legally liable to pay money damages as compensation to the victims and their families. Moreover, each defendant will likely have an insurance policy that can be triggered to ensure sufficient coverage to pay the full and complete compensation to the victims. For example, many common causes of Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accidents involve the driver. This is why truck drivers are almost always defendants in cases like this. Driver-related causes include factual matters like distracted driving, violation of traffic and driving laws, reckless endangerment (by excessive speeding, as an example), driver fatigue, driving under the influence of various substances, etc. Further, since most Louisiana 18-wheeler truck drivers are employed by their trucking company, those trucking companies can become defendants through various legal doctrines. As another example, many Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accidents are caused -- in full or in part -- by mechanical defects or failure with respect to the truck. This might involve defects in the engine, in electronic control mechanisms, the tires, brakes, couplings, etc. Where mechanical failure is a possible cause of the injuries to victims (or death), then the truck manufacturer or designer is a potential defendant in the case. As yet another example, negligent repair and maintenance can be the cause of Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accidents. Under these types of facts, the various repair companies involved in the truck's maintenance history are possible defendants in the case. As a final example, cargo loading errors are common causes of Louisiana 18-wheeler truck accidents. Examples include excessive weight, improper weight distribution, tie-down failures, and more. But, many times, the cargo loading is done by a third party. That is, the "trailer" part of the 18-wheeler tractor-trailer is loaded by someone other than the driver or the driver's trucking company. Where improper cargo loading is a factor in the injuries or fatality caused by the accident, those third-party cargo loaders are possible defendants in the case. Contact A Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney Today For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams. If you have been injured in a Louisiana accident, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers can help you recover the full compensation you are entitled to according to Louisiana law. To contact us, complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may benefit significantly from having an attorney with legal competence and experience assisting you with your Louisiana personal injury case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle personal injury cases throughout all of Louisiana. Thank you for reading this blog post and visiting our website. "Felony murder" in Louisiana can be charged if a person is killed during the commission of some other violent, serious, and/or drug-related felony crime. Louisiana does not have a specific statute defining "felony murder." Rather, felony murder can be charged by prosecutors as either First Degree Murder or Second Degree Murder, depending on whether specific intent can be proven and what other crime is involved.
Our Louisiana criminal defense attorney at the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams explains more on felony murder below. Generally speaking, First Degree "Felony" Murder requires proof of intent to cause death or great bodily harm during the commission of another felony. By contrast, it might be said the killing involved in Second Degree "Felony" Murder is accidental; that is, there is no proof of intent to kill or cause great bodily harm. Pursuant to Louisiana Rev. Stat., § 30, First Degree "Felony Murder" will be charged if the accused had the specific intent to kill and take a life or to inflict great bodily harm and perpetrated -- or attempted to perpetrate -- one or more of the following crimes:
Pursuant to Louisiana Rev. Stat., § 30.1, Second Degree "Felony Murder" will be charged if the accused kills another person -- but did not have the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm -- while committing or attempting to commit one or more of the following crimes:
Defenses to Felony Murder A number of legal defenses can be used for felony murder charges in the same manner as they can be used for any criminal charge. These include various innocence defenses like alibi, misidentification, failure of proof by the government prosecutors, and more. If supported by the facts, defenses may also be based on law enforcement's violation of constitutional protections and processing/procedure rules. Special attention and investigation must be given to the predicate crime. If that can be defended against, that can move the case down from felony murder to manslaughter or involuntary homicide, which carry much less punishment for convictions. Defeating the evidence related to the predicate offense may also then allow defenses related to excusable homicide like self-defense, defense of others, and/or other circumstances of justifiable use of force. Contact A Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Today For more information, contact the Law Offices of Philip B. Adams today. We are top relentless, meticulous, and aggressive Louisiana criminal defense lawyers. Complete our "Contact Us" page here. You may benefit significantly from having an attorney with legal competence and experience assisting you with your criminal case. We have offices in Shreveport and handle criminal defense cases throughout all of Louisiana. |
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