People just like you make up the clientele we serve. From deckhands to galley hands, housewives to husbands, welders to blasters and painters, ordinary people from all walks of life have sought our help. We are committed to the basic principles of honesty, integrity and hard work, and we also see our clients as friends who are not forgotten when a case is resolved. Presented below are a few of the many types of cases we have handled over the years. You can see from these case spotlights the divergence of the clients themselves and the variety of ways injury and disability strike the unfortunate.
A Lafourche parish lady was visiting her friend in the Lockport area, at an apartment complex. Upon exiting the apartment, she headed back to her automobile. The sidewalk she utilized had an abrupt elevation in the sidewalk catching her shoe and causing her to trip forward and fracture her wrist. After multiple surgeries, the injured lady sought help through Kopfler & Hermann. Again, utilizing the services of an expert architect and thorough investigation, it was proven that the sidewalk was defective. After the institution of the lawsuit and numerous depositions, the lady was compensated for her personal injuries, pain and suffering, and medical expenses. Subsequent to the resolution of the lawsuit, the property owner demolished the defective sidewalk and rebuilt them to correct the defect. A local victory for pedestrians!
In a wheel chair accident case, Kopfler & Hermann represented a disabled individual who was attempting to enter a municipality jail to bail out a loved one. The jail had been constructed a number of years ago. The area where a handicapped individual would park required access to the jail along a side walk. The parking lot for the municipality had been designed improperly, and there were no wheel stops for the vehicles. As a consequence, any vehicle that parked with the wheels resting against the side walk blocked access for a wheelchair bound individual.
As it turned out, a vehicle blocking the side walk was parked there by an employee of the municipality. Her actions blocking the sidewalk required the wheelchair bound individual to leave the sidewalk to get around the vehicle blocking access. The grassy area she was required to traverse had a hole that caused her wheelchair to tip forward breaking one of her legs. Utilizing an expert architect and standards for construction of parking lots and sidewalks, Kopfler & Hermann was able to reach a successful settlement for the wheelchair bound patient’s injuries, pain & suffering, and medical expenses. Before the lawsuit was settled, the municipality installed wheel stops on all of the parking spaces so that any vehicles parking would not intrude on the sidewalk. A local victory for wheelchair bound individuals!
If you, your family, or friends suffer an injury due to the failure of a commercial business or municipality to provide adequate wheelchair access, please contact Kopfler & Hermann so we can explore your right and remedies under the American Disability Act and other related laws.
A truck driver/trainer who slipped and fell in the diesel bay of a truck stop received fair compensation for his injuries during a meditation at the offices of Kopfler Personal Injury Attorneys. There was no question that a large amount of diesel had been spilled in the bay, that the store employees knew it was there but took no steps to clean it up. Diesel on any surface is very slick, and the lack of appropriate lighting at this particular facility made the condition even more hazardous.
Two sandblasters in a helicopter transporting them offshore sustained compression fractures in their vertebrae when the helicopter dropped into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of co-pilot error. Both workers recovered full damages.
An oyster fishermen and three family members who helped with the fishing and culling operations inhaled a poisonous combination of gases emitted from a derelict oil well in the marsh of South Louisiana while he was on his way to the oyster grounds. The gas inhalation resulted in temporary loss of consciousness of two of the family members, who were evacuated from a small slither of barrier island by helicopter to a local hospital. They received compensation from the operator of this shut-in well.
