The Law Offices of Blaine Barrilleaux are a devoted personal injury law firm and car accident lawyers standing by to help victims in Lafayette, Louisiana. We want to make sure that you understand your legal options. The personal injury lawyers and car accident lawyers in our office are fully devoted to providing aggressive legal representation to help you get the compensation that you need. We know how stressful recovering from an accident can be. Our goal is to provide you with compassionate attention while handling the other involved parties on your behalf.
Your Lafayette, Louisiana Personal Injury Law Firm
Lafayette’s Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers
The Law Offices of Blaine Barrilleaux helps victims who were hurt because of:
- Car accidents
- 18-wheeler accidents
- Maritime injuries
- On-the-job accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bite injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
We’ve made it our mission to put our more than 20 years of legal experience to work for personal injury victims in Lafayette, Louisiana and the surrounding areas. We fight for you and help you get the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
Many personal injury claims never go to court because the parties decide to settle. Our personal injury law firm and car accident lawyers will represent you during the settlement process. If the settlement process fails, we’ll represent you in court.
Lafayette Is Blaine’s Community
Attorney Blaine Barrilleaux was born and raised in Lafayette. He attended St. Thomas More High School and later earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Then after he received his law degree from Loyola Law School in New Orleans, he moved straight back to Lafayette to fulfill his dream: to build a personal injury law practice that would serve the people of Lafayette and the surrounding communities.
21 years later and Blaine has been doing just that. Lafayette is Blaine’s community, and if you asked him, he’d tell you straight-up that he’s never leaving. Every person in Lafayette neighboring areas is like family to Blaine, and he will do his utmost to serve you well and see to it that you are treated fairly and get the compensation that you deserve.
When you choose to work with Blaine, whether you’ve been in a car or truck accident or bitten by a neighbor’s dog, he is right by your side. You won’t be ignored and passed off to only his representatives or paralegals: if you work with Blaine, he works for you until your case has reached its conclusion.
Blaine Barrilleaux is the Lafayette personal injury lawyer with your best interests at the center of his heart. If you want more information, call at 337-989-1212 or complete this form.
Personal Injuries & Car Accidents Are Caused by Negligence
When someone suffers from a personal injury, such as a car accident, in Lafayette, Louisiana, the court and the insurance companies consider is negligence. In plain English, this means that we’re looking at fault. Who is at fault for causing the accident? When you’re hurt, that may seem like an easy question to answer. There are certain elements that must be present to create the legal concept of negligence.
Proving Negligence
We’ll use a car accident as an example since it is a common personal injury claim in Lafayette. Every driver has several legal duties to other drivers. For instance, drivers have a legal duty to drive the speed limit and obey stop lights and street signs.
When a duty is breached, it means that the person didn’t do what they were legally obligated to do. So, speeding or running a red light would be a breach of the duty owed to other drivers.
If a duty is breached and there is no accident, there are almost no grounds for a legal claim. For a personal injury claim to be viable, the breach of duty must be the proximate cause of the accident. This is commonly referred to as the but-for test. But for the other person running the red light, your car wouldn’t have been totaled and you wouldn’t have broken your leg.
Common damages include medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, and loss of wages. Of course, that’s not an all-inclusive list. The type of damages, and how much you may be eligible to recover, depends on the circumstances surrounding the accident. You should have your claim evaluated by an experienced personal injury or car accident lawyer.
What Should You Do If You’re Hurt in Lafayette, Louisiana?
Getting hurt in an accident of any kind is devastating. It’s not something that people really expect to happen. If it does, it can be hard for you to know what to do. Use this list to protect your legal rights:
The police report is an important component of personal injury and car accident claims. It gives an unbiased opinion related to what caused the accident. The police can also help you get personal and insurance information from the other party.
If you have a medical emergency, call 911. Don’t wait. It’s important that you protect your health.
If you don’t need emergency medical care, document the scene of the accident. Take photos of the accident site and any hazard that caused your injury. Take photos of all the vehicles involved in a car accident. You should also take photos of the street’s condition. This can help you in your claim. Also, take pictures of any injuries that you have.
Make an appointment to see your doctor or go to an urgent care clinic to assess any potential injuries you have suffered. Minor injuries can get much worse if they are left untreated. If you don’t get medical attention and later decide to pursue a legal claim, the other side may argue that you weren’t really hurt.
A qualified lawyer can help you deal with the insurance company and the opposing party. Your lawyer looks out for what is in your best interest.
Lafayette, LA Emergency Care Facilities
When you have an auto accident, it’s often hard to think straight and know what to do for the best. You may be in pain, and you’ll likely feel stressed and traumatized by what has just happened. Or you might be feeling fine like nothing is wrong. However, injury is a curious thing and can often manifest itself days or even weeks after the accident. For that reason, it’s important to get checked out by a medical doctor at an emergency facility and have any injuries evaluated, documented, and treated. Once you know your injuries are being taken care of, your next move will be to consider calling an auto accident lawyer in Lafayette, LA.
Emergency Facilities in the Lafayette Area:
Lafayette, LA Dog Bite Resources
There are approximately 90 million dogs in the United States. According to DogsBite.org, nearly 4.5 million dog bites occur each year, and out of these, nearly 20% of them become infected. If you are bitten by a dog, you should seek medical attention immediately to receive appropriate treatment. Whether you are bitten or it’s your own dog that has bitten someone else, you must always contact your local Police Department to report the incident.
While there is no formal process in the case of a dog bite, here are some actions to consider:
- Both parties should exchange contact information.
- The dog owner should secure the dog and locate its medical records (in particular, be prepared to provide proof of recent rabies shots)
- If possible, the person bitten should try to clean out the wound while waiting for medical care.
- Animal control may or may not be involved. Animal control services will likely be called if the bite occurred while the owner of the dog was not present.
Animal control facilities can also help you if you have been bitten by a dog by documenting your injury, helping you to complete the necessary paperwork, and – in some cases – assist with mediation. In cases of mediation between both parties, animal control will need medical records for the victim and also evidence that the dog’s vaccines are recent. Then, animal control will seek to determine if the dog bite injury is a single act of aggression or if it’s the case of a dangerous dog. However, if you find yourself in dispute with a third party, the best course of action is to first contact a personal injury lawyer in Lafayette that specializes in dog bites.
If you are aware of any animal neglect, cruelty, or abuse, you can also contact the animal control facility listed below.
Animal Control Facility in the Lafayette Area
Lafayette Animal Shelter and Care Center
613 W Pont Des Mouton Rd, Lafayette, LA 70507
337-291-5644
Email: LASCC@LafayetteLA.gov
Lafayette, LA Physical Therapy Offices
Physical therapists work with patients to restore strength and motion in specific areas of the body that have been affected by an injury or surgery. Physical therapy is an important part of recovery after an accident, as it can help you recover faster. This might sound counter-intuitive; surely, after an accident, the best thing for a body is to rest, right? The reality is that your muscles can often stiffen and weaken after an injury, which can slow down the rate of your recuperation. Additionally, early intervention by a physical therapist may potentially decrease the amount of time that the body compensates for the injury with improper movements, which can exacerbate the original problem. By seeking physical therapy, your body may be restored to full strength in a safe environment with a trained professional.
There is a second, critical reason for seeking physical therapy following an accident or personal injury. If you seek a settlement as compensation for your pain and suffering, you will need to prove liability and provide medical evidence of your injuries. Physical therapists start their work with you by writing up a health history, documenting the issues you need to remedy. This history can be used as medical evidence in the event of a claim being made.
Physical Therapy Offices in the Lafayette Area
How Long a Personal Injury Lawsuit Take in Lafayette, LA?
How long a personal injury lawsuit or settlement takes depends on several factors. How willing are the parties to come to an agreement? Will the claim need to be heard in court? How long does it take to get through the discovery process? There’s no single way to answer the question of how long the process will take.
Speaking of time, there’s another important aspect to consider. If you’re hurt because of the negligence of another person, Louisiana law says that you only have one year from the day of the accident to file the claim. Make sure that you call The Law Offices of Blaine Barrilleaux as soon as you can after you’re hurt.
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Call Today to Schedule Your Consultation
If you’ve been hurt in Lafayette, Louisiana or the surrounding area, call our personal injury law firm today to schedule your consultation. We’ll let you know if you have a potential case and explain your legal options. Call us now: 337-989-1212 or fill out our form below.