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What happened in this case?
Our client was hit in a T-bone collision in East Baton Rouge Parish with a commercial truck that pulled out of a private drive into his path. He needed neck surgery, and the case was litigated in federal court rather than state court. It settled for $416,000.
Figures shown are rounded; the exact amounts are on file. Past results are not a guarantee of future successes. Each case is different and is evaluated on its own facts.
On this page
- What made this case what it was?
- Why would a Louisiana truck accident end up in federal court?
- Does it hurt your case to be in federal court?
- What should you do if a trucking company’s lawyer has already contacted you?
- Frequently asked questions
What made this case what it was?
The collision was hard enough to knock him unconscious. He spent more than a year on the treatment doctors try first: medication, therapy, and several injections. None of it worked, and three separate orthopedic surgeons who reviewed his scans each told him he needed surgery. He waited and tried everything else before agreeing to it.
He could not work for more than a year. Workers’ compensation covered part of his wages and bills while the case was pending, but it does not pay for pain or for the long-term limits that come with a neck surgery.
The case was filed in federal court and it settled there.
Why would a Louisiana truck accident end up in federal court?
Usually because the trucking company is not a Louisiana company. When the people on opposite sides of a lawsuit are citizens of different states and enough money is at stake, the defense can move the case out of the parish courthouse and into federal court. Most interstate carriers are based somewhere else, so a serious truck case in Louisiana can be moved for that reason alone.
It is a defense decision, not yours, and it is usually made early.
General legal principles, not advice about any particular case. Whether a specific case can be moved depends on its own facts.
Does it hurt your case to be in federal court?
No, but it changes how the case is run, and the change is real enough that it should not be handled by a lawyer who is uncomfortable there. Federal courts move on their own schedules, hold lawyers to stricter deadlines, and apply their own rules for disclosing experts and evidence. Fewer local attorneys handle them regularly.
What does not change is the substance. The crash is still the crash, the injuries are still the injuries, and the trucking company is still responsible for what its driver did.
Three of our results came out of federal court, including a judgment against the United States Government after trial. It is not unfamiliar ground for this firm.
What should you do if a trucking company’s lawyer has already contacted you?
Say nothing about the crash or your injuries and call a lawyer the same day. A national carrier’s defense team is often involved within hours of a serious wreck, sometimes before the truck has been moved, and their early work is the reason evidence goes missing.
Call (337) 347-7177 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stop my case from being moved to federal court?
Not usually, if the legal requirements for moving it are met. It is worth knowing that it is coming, because it affects timing, but it is not something to fear and it is not a sign the case is going badly.
Does a federal case take longer?
Not necessarily. Federal courts often hold cases to firmer schedules than a busy state docket does, which can make a federal case move more predictably even when it does not move faster.
Will a federal judge or a jury decide my truck case?
A jury, in an ordinary truck case. The exception is a case against the federal government itself under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is tried to a judge with no jury.
Related reading: Recorded statements and trucking insurers, truck black box and ELD data, and how to choose a truck accident lawyer.
Related results: a federal court judgment against the United States, and a crushed hand on a drilling rig, also in federal court.
Past results are not a guarantee of future successes. Every case depends on its own facts. Attorney advertising.