On the Amazon River in Brazil, South America

Hey all. You are getting this post while I am on a mission in  South America. I am on the Amazon River in Brazil working with Amazon Outreach. I have been sleeping on a boat (see the picture below) in a hammock for the last ten days.

I have no contact with civilization from where I am. I am not sure if that is good thing, but perhaps, it is important to get disconnected from society and spend some time doing something for other people who can do nothing for me.

I love defending trucking companies. Trucking is essential to everything we do. Everything I took with me was brought to me by a truck. Sadly, when someone is involved in an accident, they look to the trucker and trucking company a leper to be shunned and hated by society.  

Personally, I think quite differently about my clients. They are ALL good citizens who want to to the right thing. They want to know if they are responsible and how much they owe. They want fairness.  Unfortunately, it seems that there are many people out there who cannot get enough from corporate America. No matter what is offered, it's not enough even when the case has little merit or limited injuries.

It seems that people just want to punish and gouge and bleed the best of what America has to offer. I get very weary of trying to protect my clients, even when some of them may think I am not doing all I should. How often do we attorneys get asked to do as much as we can to prepare the case for defense, but then we are scolded for charging too much?

Getting away from all of that for 10 days may be what is best for me and my clients.

I hope you take time to do for others who can do nothing for you  in return. It gives fresh perspective.

Attorney Selection Checklist

For over twenty five years I have practiced law. I have had some incredibly difficult cases, difficult clients and difficult adversaries. I have also had great clients and admirable opponents. 

I constantly strive to provide the best representation that I can; however, there are times when I am no longer asked to assist a client and I am not sure why. Is it because of the expense, personality issues, the size of the law firm, loyalty to others? Is it because the "other guy" takes the client out to dinner or buys tickets to Lakers game?

I don't know, but I think the following is a pretty good list to consider when deciding on legal counsel I hope it gives you some insight and help. As always, if we can be of assistance in North Louisiana or Northeast Texas, please don't hesitate to call day or night.

Key Criteria to Identify and Select Counsel:

Louisiana Supreme Court rules workers comp Claimant is not entitled to recover meds paid by Medicaid/nor meds written off by Medicaid!

Specifically the Louisiana Supreme Court reasoned:

 

“Medicaid is a free medical service, and no consideration is given by a patient to obtain Medicaid benefits. As a result, claimant would receive an improper windfall if he was allowed to recover for medical expenses which have been reduced by health care providers as a result of their contractual arrangements with Medicaid. Such double recovery of damages is not permitted under Louisiana law. See Gagnard v. Baldridge, 612 So.2d 732, 736 (La.1993) (“Double recovery would be in the nature of exemplary or punitive damages which are not allowable under Louisiana law unless expressly provided for by statute”). Accordingly, the portion of the OWC's judgment permitting claimant to recover the written off amount of $422,043.59 is erroneous and must be reversed.”

Keep in mind Medicare and Medicaid are DIFFERENT entities!  

The citation of the opinion is JERRY WAYNE BENOIT v. TURNER INDUSTRIES GROUP, L.L.C., --- So.3d ---- (2012) 2011-1130 (La. 1/24/12) . For a copy, please contact me at perkins@perkinsfirm.com.

Negligent Hiring Claims in Trucking Defense Litigation

Chris Tanke reported "The current driver shortage is only expected to worsen in the future as more drivers either retire or leave the industry. Temptation to deviate from your standard driver hiring criteria to find a driver to fill the empty seats will be strong."

According to the American Transportation Research Institute, the following violations can give you a good place to start to evaluate the the likelihood that an employee would be involved in a future crash:

Conviction	Increase in Crash Likelihood
Failure to use/improper signals	96%
Past crash	88%
Improper passing	88%
Improper turn	84%
Improper/erratic lane change	80%
Improper lane location	68%
Failure to obey traffic sign	68%
Speeding 15+ over limit	67%
Any conviction	65%
Reckless/careless/inattentive/negligent driving	64%

While excess speeding and reckless driving are down on the list as far as increased likelihood, they are also dangerous. In the event of a serious at-fault crash, the plaintiff attorneys will certainly look to use that violation to portray the driver in a negative light, which could increase the potential settlement/verdict amount.

Finding good, qualified, safe truck drivers will continue to be a problem for the industry. Deviating from your driver hiring criteria may solve your problem and fill the seat, but could create another problem by sparking higher accident/insurance costs.

If you are interesting reading more about the legal arguments and evidentiary methods used to defend against claims of negligent hiring, please read on. Otherwise, if you need any additional assistance in defending claims against one of the greatest industries in the world, please contact me at:

Perkins & Associates, LLC

401 Market Street, Suite 900

Shreveport, LA 71101

318-222-2426