Personal Injury Attorney Shreveport - An Interview with Stephen T. Collins
Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice.
A. I am originally from a small town named Atlanta, in Winn Parish. I attended Louisiana College in Pineville and graduated with a BA. While there I was active in several organizations, including Student Government and was Student Government President in my senior year. I attended law school at LSU.After law school, I was employed at the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport as a staff attorney. There I would review trail transcripts and evidence, research legal questions and draft opinions. I then went to work at Cook Yancey King and Galloway and from there I went to Norman R. Gordon and Associates. The Cook firm was the largest insurance defense firm in north Louisiana and the Gordon firm was the largest personal injury firm in north Louisiana during that time period. In 1999, I opened my own practice with the majority of my work being in the field of personal injury. When I moved to Shreveport , I met my future wife Mattie. We have two children who attend Caddo Magnet High School. We attend Broadmoor Baptist Church, where I am currently on the Board of Directors. I am also a member of the South Shreveport Rotary Club, where I serve as President.
Q. If a mom asked you to tell us what does personal injury mean, what would you say?
A. Personal injury is a very broad term. Simply put, if you are injured in anyway you may have a personal injury claim. In some cases such as workers compensation the injury may have been caused by your own fault or negligence. Likewise, the claim may not be based on any persons fault, such as a disability claim resulting from poor health.
Q. Do you offer free initial consultations?
A. Yes. I do not charge for initial consultations on any type of case, whether personal injury, divorce, successions, wills etc. On personal injury cases there is no charge at all unless a recovery is made.
Q. Does your office offer paralegal services for simple forms and filings?
A. I do not have a paralegal service for simple forms because I am a sole practitioner, and as such try to be available to all my clients regardless of their needs. However, my secretary is also a notary and she will at times complete and execute forms after my review.
Q. What under Louisiana law constitute as personal injury?
A. Louisiana does not have a legal definition of “ personal injury” . It is simply a term commonly used to include several different areas of law (such as automobile accidents, medical malpractice, defective products, injuries caused by animals, slip and fall’ s etc) which have there own separate rules.
Q. How soon should one file a lawsuit?
A. In Louisiana, a suit must be filed before the prescription date (other states will refer to this as a statute of limitations). In most cases, but not all, suit must be filed within one year of the date of the accident. There are several exceptions to this rule depending on varying factual situations and the specific type of claim. A suit should be filed when the parties are not able to resolve their differences by themselves or if it is needed to force the disclosure of factual information available to only one side.
Q. From a legal standpoint what is the meaning of pain and suffering?
A. Pain and suffering is almost limitless. Physical pain and suffering whether the injury is minor or major is the most obvious. Mental suffering, emotional trauma, embarrassment and other similar injuries are also recoverable. Additionally, emotional suffering due to the injury to a spouse or child may be recoverable in some instances.
Q. What are the legal steps and costs involved with accident cases or any other type of personal injury case, such as car accidents, slips and falls, assaults, work injuries and defective products, medical or dental malpractice claims?
A. In general, the legal steps to take in all types of personal injury claims are the same, but can vary depending on where the claim must be filed. For instance, workers compensation claims are filed with anadministrative court and medical malpractice claims are filed with the Patients Compensation Fund.The first step is hiring an attorney, so that an investigation of your claim can start. The attorney must gather all pertinent information such as witness statements and medical records. At an appropriate time settlement
negotiations will commence. If this is not successful, a suit will be filed. After that all parties are allowed" discovery.” There are several methods whereby one party may " discover” what the other party knows. The two most common are interrogatories, which may include request for production, and depositions. Interrogatories are written questions which must be answered unless there is a valid legal objection. A common example is “ list all motor vehicle accidents you have been involved in.” Request forProduction may ask for copies of work records, photographs of the accident scene, insurance policies etc. Depositions are formal statements given under oath in front of a court reporter. Attorneys for all parties may attend and ask questions from any witness, treating physician or any other person who may have some knowledge relevant to the proceedings. The court reporter later types these up in a booklet and provides copies to all involved. Once all parties have completed discovery, a motion is filed to set a trial date. Most often cases settle before trial, but if not a trial is held. After trial either or both sides may file an appeal to a higher court but this is rare.The cost involved vary greatly largely depending on the need for an expert witness. Often, the attorney fronts these cost and recovers them in the settlement. Before a suit is filed the main expenses will be copying charges for police reports, medical records and other documentary evidence. Copies of medical records may cost anywhere from $20.00 to many hundreds depending on how extensive the treatment was. There may also be fees for private investigators and experts. These costs can mount into the thousands and should be discussed with your attorney. Court cost for filing papers with the clerk typically range from $200.00 to $500.00. The attorney will generally pay these costs and recover them as part of any settlement.
Q. What happens if the person does not live in the state where his/her injury took place?
A. Where a person lives can have several effects. First, it can effect where the lawsuit is filed. Generally, a suit is filed where the accident happened. For instance a person from Texas injured in Louisiana will file in the parish where the injury occurred. However, when other parties are also from out of state you may end up in federal court instead of state court. If a Texan is injured in Louisiana by someone from Arkansas, the suit may end up in federal court. This may also lead to “ choice of law” questions. For instance would the law of Louisiana apply to interpret the insurance policy purchased in Arkansas? For most cases the person from out-of-state would have their claim handled just like someone from in-state and the suit, if necessary would be filed where the accident happened.
