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Maritime Casualty
Determining the Amount of Cure Owed to Your Seamen–Employees
Cure Is Paid Only for Incurred Medical Expenses “Cure” is a shipowner’s obligation to pay necessary medical expenses for seamen injured while in service of its ships. Seamen are only entitled to recover cure for medical expenses actually incurred rather than the amount charged. (Medical bills are frequently charged/billed at a certain rate and then […]
- February 10, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Business Litigation
Personal Liability for LLC Members
Personal Liability May Still Exist for LLC Members, Despite the General Shield from Liability. In a previous blog article, “Louisiana Supreme Court holds that an individually licensed contractor is not a “professional” within the meaning of an exception to limited liability for LLC members,” I discussed a recent case which held that a contractor could […]
- February 8, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Workers' Compensation
Course and Scope of Employment – Always Clocked In
Recently, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals determined that an employee was in the course and scope of her employment when she sustained injuries from a criminal assailant. The employee, a home health caregiver, normally worked from 8 am until 5 pm. On the day of the incident, the employee accompanied a client […]
- February 3, 2016
- By Stephen G. Collura of Associate, New Orleans
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General Liability
Best Practices for Documenting Slip and Fall Accidents
While we all work to prevent falls, accidents still occur. Often these unfortunate events can lead to litigation. What should you do when a slip and fall occurs on your property or at your workplace? Here are some steps to ensure that available defenses are preserved and that your attorney has the information needed to […]
- February 1, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Insurance & Casualty Litigation
Statutorily Limiting Liability in Certain Vessel Lawsuits
Under the federal Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 (“the Act”), owners of vessels (and, occasionally, charterers of vessels) can sometimes limit their exposure in vessel-related cases to “the value of the vessel and pending freight.” See 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq. If a vessel has multiple owners, any owner’s liability will not exceed […]
- January 27, 2016
- By Alan Stewart
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Business Litigation
Five Signs Your Business is Ready for the Next Generation
Family businesses make up 80% of all U.S. businesses, and yet only 30% of these businesses successfully survive a transition to the next generation. Dwight Drake, Closely Held Enterprises 335 (2013). One key question that many family businesses face is whether the company will survive the transition to the next generation. Here are five signs […]
- January 25, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Business Litigation
Protections for Nursing Mothers in the Workforce
As of 2010, the Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to include requirements that employers covered by the FLSA accommodate non-exempt employees. The statute requires: 1) Reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for one year after the child’s birth each time the employee needs to express milk; […]
- January 20, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Workers' Compensation
Applying Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Law to Out-of-State Work Accident
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation laws can be applied to work injuries that occur while an employee is working outside of Louisiana. Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1035.1 provides extraterritorial coverage to an employee injured while working outside the territorial limits of Louisiana. Specifically, this statute provides in pertinent part: (1) If an employee, while working outside the […]
- January 18, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Civil Procedure
Updated Motion for Summary Judgment Article, Effective January 1, 2016
Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 966 has undergone significant edits in the past year, and the “new” article will take effect on January 1, 2016. The article will not affect any Motions for Summary Judgment (“MSJ”) pending adjudication or appeal on that date. The “new” article will only affect Motions filed after January 1, […]
- January 13, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch
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Maritime Casualty
Recovery of Punitive Damages by Seamen in the Eastern District of Louisiana
The availability of punitive damages for seamen has historically been a murky issue. District courts are still attempting to decipher U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit jurisprudence to determine when punitive damages are available under the Jones Act and general maritime law. Judges and jurists first look to the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in […]
- January 11, 2016
- By Allen & Gooch