Started By
Message

re: Allegedly, Madison Brooks had sex the day before incident that caused that caused injuries

Posted on 3/12/24 at 2:52 pm to
Posted by SHPMustang
Houston
Member since Jan 2021
44 posts
Posted on 3/12/24 at 2:52 pm to
Unfortunately, the dad more or less had to sue the ride-share driver.

Posters that are members of the Louisiana Bar can better speak to the specifics of third-party practice in Louisiana, but the dad's attorney was just getting ahead of what the defense attorneys would do: claim that the ride-share driver caused/contributed to her death and should be assigned a portion of the liability at trial. This could potentially decrease any judgment obtained if the jury panel apportions a percentage of liability to the ride-share driver, or worst-case scenario, decides that its all the ride-share driver's fault.

By preempting the defense, dad's lawyer can attempt to settle with the ride share's defense counsel/commercial insurance carrier, who would be glad to get a potential catastrophic claim off the books. Upon settling, they can figure out how to dismiss the ride share driver/company in a way that is least beneficial to the other defendants.
This post was edited on 3/12/24 at 2:53 pm
Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
166508 posts
Posted on 3/12/24 at 2:53 pm to
quote:

Unfortunately, the dad more or less had to sue the ride-share driver.



why is it unfortunate?
Posted by Alt26
Member since Mar 2010
28495 posts
Posted on 3/12/24 at 3:01 pm to
quote:

Posters that are members of the Louisiana Bar can better speak to the specifics of third-party practice in Louisiana, but the dad's attorney was just getting ahead of what the defense attorneys would do: claim that the ride-share driver caused/contributed to her death and should be assigned a portion of the liability at trial. This could potentially decrease any judgment obtained if the jury panel apportions a percentage of liability to the ride-share driver, or worst-case scenario, decides that its all the ride-share driver's fault.

By preempting the defense, dad's lawyer can attempt to settle with the ride share's defense counsel/commercial insurance carrier, who would be glad to get a potential catastrophic claim off the books. Upon settling, they can figure out how to dismiss the ride share driver/company in a way that is least beneficial to the other defendants.


Louisiana is a pure-comparative fault state in civil actions. So whether or not the ride-share driver and, vicariously, his "employer" were parties to the lawsuit or not, the jury could be instructed to assign a percentage of fault to any entity/person they find to be at fault...regardless of if they were a party.

Plaintiff's attorney don't really want an "empty chair" a defendant can point to. But more than that, they want a viable source who can actually pay any judgment they might get at trial. 4 young adults probably don't have much in the way of money or assets to satisfy any judgment. The insurer of the ride-share company does (if fault can be proven).
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 1Next pagelast page
refresh

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitterInstagram