Family awarded damages for crash five years ago

Louisiana residents know that motor vehicle accidents can happen at any time but that does not negate the importance of seeking compensation and justice after an accident occurs. Sometimes the path to that compensation and justice may be long but it is important to ensure that people’s rights are properly protected and respected.

An example of a long path to justice can be seen in the case of a family that was injured in a crash nearly five years ago. In April of 2012, a woman and her two children were hit by a drunk driver on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. The driver, a physician, was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.21 percent, more than two-and-a-half times the legally allowed level. Through an odd series of events, the doctor was never officially charged with a driving while intoxicated offense. In 2015, he was found guilty of vehicular negligent injury charges and his prison sentence was suspended while he was ordered to serve a five-year period of incarceration at home.

The mother initiated civil proceedings that led to a jury trial. Finally, in early 2017, a jury awarded the three a combined sum of close to $1.3 million. The award is for the combination of actual damages incurred as well as punitive damages.

This example illustrates how talking to an attorney after an accident may be beneficial for Louisiana residents. Even when justice takes time, it may still be possible.

Source: Louisiana Record, “Jury awards $1.3M to victims of alleged drunk driver after questions of conflict of interest,” Hank Strickler, Feb. 1, 2017